I've Been a Rebel Too Long
by Annabelle Rose the Hedgehog
Summary: Sonic's had a rough childhood: A bully and a divorce to put it lightly. Then comes Amy, a new neighbor, who brightens up his view of the world. Now he's on a mission to be the better person. Follow him as he faces his demons and makes some friends along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been wanting to take a break from Annie and Angie and this story came to me not too long ago. Tell me what you think. **

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

"Sonic… wake up! It's time for school young man." Man I hate it when she calls me that. She shook my shoulder a little. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.

"Do I have to go?"

"Sonic, it's the last day of school."

"Exactly."

"Come on Sweetie, you can make it."

She pulled the covers off. She seemed a little more stressed than she usually is for a doctor. She might have been called to deliver a baby or something. If there's anything I really know, it's when I'm the reason the old lady wants to rip out her powder blue quills. Mom once had her quills so long, I could've climbed up her quills as a baby. She keeps them cut so she can manage them more. I only got up because I knew if I didn't I'd be seriously punished. School hasn't done me much good. The old man might be gone, but his touch is still here.

When I came down for breakfast I noticed that mom was gone and I'd eat breakfast alone, as usual. I was used to it though. I heard movement upstairs. My older brother Shadow and his guest must be up. I say guest because she's someone I hadn't seen before. I heard the usual sounds from his room when I got home. He was lucky the old lady wasn't here. Thank goodness I got those sound resistant headphones three years ago.

I was out of the house speeding through the neighborhood when I finished at the table. I was at my fastest, but I was able to recognize a moving van in the blurs. Whoever is moving in, I hope I won't have to hurt any child in the family.

So I continued on to school. Made it into the classroom before the bell rang. I sighed in relief. Some kids stared at me. I looked up at the ceiling. I was not a new kid. I've known most of these kids since kindergarten. You'd think they'd be used to me coming in suddenly. The teacher didn't notice my sudden appearance and continued on arranging the chairs in a circle. We piled our desks yesterday and cleaned up the best that we could. I chose a seat and as usual people tried to stay away from me as possible. I was used to it. There was nothing new here.

Our teacher, Ms. Dale, was walking around inside the circle and speaking to us. Something about how much she was going to miss us and prepare to make a good impression on our next teacher. You know what I mean. Once or twice when she wasn't looking Blake would shoot spitballs at me and when I look at him he'd pull off the innocence look. That dog never gets tired of picking on the friendless kid. He loves the fact that he can torment me all he wants and I can't do anything about it. The last time I punched him I was nearly expelled. Mom keeps me from laying a hand on him. Mom really wanted me to attend this school because it was one of the best in the city.

It's like this. You see, he transferred into the school about four years ago. He was the shyest kid anyone had ever seen. But eventually he became Mr. Popular and everyone wanted to be his friend. He was a nice guy back then. He's still nice… to everyone but me. Usually kids just stay away. But Blake has made it a mission to make me miserable. Sometime in the spring he was going to have a pool party. When he invited me I politely said no. This was when I pushed people away. He couldn't take being rejected. He tried again and again to invite me. I said no each time. He gave up after sometime and I think he cracked. Since then he's made my life just a bit harder than it was before.

It was because of my so called old man that I didn't accept his offer. What he put me through made me afraid of making a friend. I didn't want to drag someone else into my despair and misery. I've been labeled as a loner and not the cool kind either, as soon as that kid was bent on ruining my life. Bad enough that my dad took away my childhood, but now I've got someone on my case everyday at school.

My experiences have left me well, traumatized. I'm no troublemaker. I was just always forgotten, invisible because I pushed people away and now they see no value in me and a waste of time. Maybe if Blake didn't go crazy kids might give me a chance. I was really only noticed by my teachers. They seem to get me to believe that I'll be somebody. I come out in the top ten scholar's list for four years. I just think that the work would put me in a spot where I just need to focus on that particular subject and not allow my mind to wonder because it's bliss to not have to think about my past or feel like I still haven't overcome it.

Besides, I didn't have anything better to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Sonic's POV

As soon as the bell rang I broke for the door aching to be finally free. It's only for a few months, but hey that's a long time to me to be rid the Dog. During the school year I'd be lucky if he was gone for even a day. I was leaving it all behind me and I didn't look back. I felt better than I have in a really long time and I enjoyed the sun on my face and the wind that moved through my quills.

Getting closer to home I noticed something odd. I stopped maybe ten steps from our front porch. I hid behind a bush. I poked my head out to make sure I was right. A girl? A pink hedgehog from what I could tell. She was sitting on our front porch. Why would she be sitting on our porch? Was she lost? I had never seen her before. That's when I remembered the moving van. Oh no. She must be the new neighbor. _Great. I was afraid of this. _

I might make her cry, but at least I wouldn't ruin her social life. She's new and she'll need some friends. Having me around won't really help her. The last time there was a new kid, he first introduced himself to me. He was a weird little dude but his problem wasn't a mental thing he was smart, but rather what he looked like. He had two tails instead of one. He was a nice kid and I didn't mind having him around. In ten minutes Blake charmed him. A few times the fox tried to get everyone to warm up to me, but that only made him look bad. They started to pick on him almost as much as me. The cruel kids targeted his tails, one time they actually shaved half of one. That was when I actually punched Blake and took down some of his goons. The poor kid couldn't take it. If he was going to make it out of middle school all right he was going to have to leave me behind.

I still see him around and he never looks me in the eye. He feels guilty, but I did tell him to forget about me and to save himself. I was willing to be alone if he could be left alone. Besides, he doesn't do anything to me now and I really appreciate him for not letting them get to him to the point where he would extremely betray me.

The time came for me to end it before it even begins with this pink girl. She might not know it but she'll look back on this when she realizes who I am that she was lucky that I did it.

I walked to our porch. As much I as hate to do this, I have to. Her social life is at stake here. She was sitting on the last step. I wondered if she was waiting for me. She couldn't have seen me coming.

"You lost kid?" I asked her. She looked at me funny.

"Um, I'm Amy Rose." She stood up. "My family and I just moved in."

I didn't say anything. I'm no good at this.

"Aren't you Sonic?"

"Depends, what do you want?" I folded my arms across my chest.

"Um…" she was nervous.

"Listen kid, do yourself a favor and leave." I walked up the stairs, eyeing her.

"But why?" I looked at her funny. "I just came for a little fun." She seemed so… bubbly and warm. I need to focus so I imagined her as Blake. I faced the door. I could feel her eyes on me.

"Just go and never come back." I slammed the door closed. When I did, I leaned on the door. I waited for her to leave. It was a little while before I heard her steps slowly go down the steps. The steps in my heart grew heavier and heavier. I felt bad. I yelled at her and slammed the door in her face. All she wanted was to have some fun.

Speaking of fun… they're at it again. I heard the moaning and knew it was happening. Time to get the headphones. This doesn't surprise me much anymore, but it still grosses me out. Mom isn't good with suspecting something and Shadow knows how to use her scheduale to his advantage.

I stomped up there, knocked on his door, and said, "If you don't mind bro-" The door bell rang. "…the old lady's here, get whoever she is out of here." As much as I would love to see him get busted, he'd gladly make my life a living hell compared to what goes on in school. The sick bastard. I question our relation a lot. The boy's in college still and mom's really worried about him. I wasn't the only one to live through the hell Dad called love. But his only problem is that he's a player. His grades are fine and he can take care of himself. He could move out if he wanted to but mom wants him to stay to keep an eye on him. It's not working.

"Boys, I forgot me keys."

"Coming Mom."

Before I left Shadow said through the door. "Distract her."

I opened the door. "Hey, Ma you wouldn't be heading back to the office would you?"

"No, I got off early so I could take you boys out to eat at your favorite place."

"That's great, hey could I talk to you in my room?"

"Okay."

I ended up telling her that I was thinking of redoing my room. She told me to come up with some designs and then we'll settle on a compromise or give it all of my ideas.

Whoever she was, was gone by the time Ma left my room. My bro came into my room when I was relaxed enough to lie down and listen to some music.

"What's up?" I asked from my bed.

"Just thanks little bro."

"Hm. What's brother for?"

He smiled. "Mom said to get ready."

I nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

Sonic's POV

First day of vacation, I slept until noon. I could've slept longer but Mom woke me up. "Sonic, if you don't come downstairs and apologize you are grounded little mister."

Apologize? Oh, boy, what have I been accused of now? Fake hall passes, cheating kids out of their allowance, making out with the principal's daughter? That last one actually happened to me last year. Blake had to have been either good with photo shop or had paid someone to do it for him. She's his sister too and she normally just goes along with what he says.

I sighed and got out of bed.

"Come on, come on get dressed and brush your teeth." I did what I was told and wondered what Blake planned this time. What has Satan gotten his son to do this time?

When I got down the stairs I heard giggling. Giggling? That's new. I walked into the kitchen to find that same girl from yesterday. She was sitting at the table. When she saw me, she moved her head and looked down not wanting to look at me. I don't blame her. I took a good look at her. She looked so… helpless.

"Well Sonic." Mom eyed me as she placed a plate of spaghetti in front of the girl and then another at the corner next to her. I knew what she was up to. All I had to do was last maybe an hour with this girl and my mom and then I'll probably never have to see her again in my house again.

I sighed. "I'm sorry for what I did and said yesterday." It came out more sincere than I planned it to be… but I guess when I looked at her, I … just didn't want her to hate me. Blake plays his part really well. I don't need to add to the list of people who want me to be broken and scarred.

"It's okay, but a simple, now's not a good time would have worked too ya know."

"I was… having a bad day."

"Oh."

Mom sat down.

"Umm, is there any way I can go on my own after lunch?"

"Why not have Amy as company; she did want to have a look around the neighborhood." Oh no. I had to think of something fast.

"Actually, how about we go into the woods?"

"Splendid idea Sonic. Maybe you could show Amy the pond." So that's her name.

"A pond?" Amy asked.

I looked at her. "Yeah, I actually fell in it when I found it." She giggled. I smiled without meaning to.

"Well, Sonic, are you going to stand there or are you going to eat?" My mom asked.

"Hm, oh, right."I ended up scratching the back of my head. I made my way to the table and sat next to Amy. She smiled at me. I didn't know how to respond. Or maybe I didn't want to because she may unknowingly commit social suicide. I was planning to not say anything and when Mom tried to get me talk I wouldn't say much.

"So, Amy I didn't quite catch your age."

"Um, I'm ten. I'll be eleven after school starts." She said before she stuffed her cheeks. I chuckled at her face with those puffed up cheeks. She's cute, I'll give her that. Oh… it just gives me more of a reason to make sure she isn't seen around me.

"Ah, Sonic's almost thirteen."

Amy turned to me and asked, "So are you going into eighth grade?"

"Yeah."

The rest of the time was about Amy's family. Her moms wanted her to grow up in a place that's closer to nature, so they moved here. I've never encountered someone with two moms before. I thought just having one was enough, but two? This might be an interesting summer. I didn't speak at all for the rest of the hour. My ma, I felt, was more interrogating Amy after she mentioned her family situation. Since Dad left, mom has been having her eye on anything out of the norm. We don't get cases like Amy's around here.

After lunch, my mom took me aside and told me, "Please make her feel welcome and don't let her go near the bridge." There was an old rickety bridge over a river that cuts through the forest and ends at the pond.

"Okay."

"Good boy. And come back before it gets dark."

"Uh-huh." She patted my head in a loving way. To make my mom happy I'll make sure Amy's happy by the end of the day.

I left with Amy beside me.

"Are there any other kids around?"

"Yeah, but none of them over the age of five."

"Any teens?"

"Sure, but I wouldn't go playing with them."

"Why not?"

Oh, boy. She's so innocent and I … admire that. She can live in this whole perfect world in her mind. You know, that time when it seemed that the world didn't have any worries. When you think that you'll always be safe and not seem to realize how dangerous the world can be. Something that I could never do. I always knew that the world was cruel and that life sucks. But Amy, seemed to get the ideal childhood with that belief that all people are good inside. I couldn't ruin that for her.

"Let's just say… their ideas of having fun are different from ours."

"Okay then, how far is the pond?" I pulled her into my chest. "Uh…" She looked at me surprised and I think she was scared.

"You really should be more careful."

"Huh?" I cocked my head towards the tree that she could've hit. She turned her head in the direction. "Oh, heh." It wasn't until she looked back at me that I noticed how close we really were. Her hands were on my chest and somehow an arm of mine was wrapped around her waist. I could feel her breathing on my face. It strangely felt… comfortable to hold her this way.

"Uh…" She pulled away from me as I tried to find something to say. I saw the rosy burn on her cheeks before she turned away from me.

"Thanks."

"… No problem."

"Uh," she was looking down and twirling her index fingers around each other, "Please," she looked at me, "Lead the way Sonic."

"Right." I took her hand knowing that maybe it would be safer if I did. "Do you mind?" She shook her head. Her cheeks were blazing from what I could tell and I could feel mine burning up too. I mentally slapped myself for the natural reaction. I led Amy into a passage that I have taken so many times before.

"Do you always come into the forest Sonic?" She asked a few moments into our journey.

"Yup. It's like a way to escape the real world for a little while."

"So it's like your own personal playground?"

"I never thought of it that way…" I looked at her with an intrigued look. She smiled softly.

"Whoa!" She tripped and I went down with her. But… somehow I positioned myself so that she landed on top of me and for me to take the… initial impact, I should say.

"Ow!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Sonic." She got off and sat next to me. "I can really be clumsy sometimes."

"It's okay, I've been through worst." I sat up and heard a pecking sound.

"What was that?"

"Sh… Listen." It came again. I looked around for our culprit. It came again. The sound was coming from… right over us?" I looked up. I smiled and tapped Amy's shoulder. She was looking to the side when I tapped her. She looked at me as I smiled and pointed up. I saw her smile as she spotted our company: a woodpecker.

"Amazing," Amy sighed. I stared at her as she admired the pecking bird doing its thing. Her pink quills framed her face well. I heard some rustling in a bush. A squirrel with puffed up cheeks ran from the bush and up a tree. Amy giggled. "You don't see that every day."

"City girl huh?"

"I guess, my moms and I used to live downtown."

_Moms. _It's so strange to me how a person can have two moms. One's enough for me thank you. Oh well. This world is modernizing I guess. I could only hope that Amy won't end up like me; an outcast, because her family is a happy, but not a normal one. To tell you the truth, now that the info has settled into my mind, I found it to be more interesting than strange. I wondered to myself for a moment, _How do you know when you're looking for a guy or girl?_

"Um Sonic?"

"Hm?" I shook my head a little and noticed that she was standing over me.

"How much further is the pond?"

"Oh, it's not much farther." I got up, took her hand again and went on.

"Do you always show your friends this place?" I stopped momentarily. "Sonic?" I didn't look at her as I once again faced the fact that I didn't have any friends to show this place to. It still hurt that so many years of torment could still leave a few reminders. "Sonic?" I looked at her ever so slowly. She seemed worried.

I felt my heart warm up. No one outside my family has ever looked worried for me. Maybe having her around for the summer won't be so bad after all.

"Did I say um…?"

"I'm fine. I just-no one's ever-It's…"

"…Hard for you to make friends?"

"Yeah… That's it. Wait how did-"

"Not so many kids take a liking to kids with an unusual family."

"You mean… you didn't-"

"I did have a few good friends, but… their moms and dads didn't ever let them come over for a play date or go to a movie or even go to the park if they weren't around to keep any eye on their kids."

Suddenly, I felt sorry for her. It was strange for me. Usually, I was never shown pity and yet having a concern for someone else was something I had never done before. It was a strange feeling. She gave me a strange feeling.


	4. Chapter 4

**All right. Here's the next chapter.**

**And to those who have reviewed my story: Thank You Soooooo Much. It's nice to hear words of praise again. I guess I just needed something fresh. Thank you for helping me realize that. **

**Oh, and hopefully I can update maybe every week. Up until finals come along.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Amy pulled at my hand. "Which way, Sonic?"

"Hm. Oh, right." I walked on with her hand in mine kind of… liking it. A bit of a warm feeling came over me. We came to some bushes; I got behind her and covered her eyes.

"Hey!" She giggled. I smiled.

"No peeking."

"Fine." She folded her arms and stomped on the ground pretending to be angry. I grinned.

"Just close your eyes." I took my hands away; made sure her eyes weren't open and then took her hands in mine. I carefully led her around the bushes and stopped just close to the water.

"Can I open them now?"

I let her hands go and walked behind her. "Okay, now."

She gasped at the sight which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'd never thought I could feel that way…EVER. It felt weird, but kind of nice too. I liked to be able to make Amy smile. "This is amazing Sonic."

"Well… it's not much," she turned to look at me, "but it's a nice place to clear your head." I sat at the water's edge. This small clearing was like a second home to me; a place where I could be what I wanted to be. The trees always looked so tall and mighty. Some of the bushes grew wild berries that are safe to eat. The water would always look clear and pure… Like Amy… like how I want to be. But that won't happen in any other place but my own mind. I envied the water… and now I envy Amy.

"Is this pond the only place you visit in the forest?" Amy asked me as she sat down next to me.

"Yeah, over the summer I'd always spend my time here or in the yard." There was nowhere else for me to go.

"What if you got hungry?"

"Sometimes I'd go back and fix myself something or I'd much on the wild berries here."

"Are they sweet?"

"A lot like candy"

"Am I the first girl you've taken here?" That caught me by surprise. Her voice sounded really small then and when I looked at her, she was looking out at the water. "Well?"

She still didn't look at me. I decided to just answer. "Other than my mom, yeah."

"Hmm… it's a shame really. It's beautiful here."

"It's their loss not mine." I got on my back and looked at some clouds.

"Are you an only child Sonic?"

"No, I've got an older brother. You?"

She fell back slowly before answering. "Just me."

"Lucky."

"Not really. I've got no one to talk to or play with when my moms are busy and I can't get a friend to come over or something. "

"I, prefer to be alone, no brother to beat me up or mom to watch me like I'm some kind of criminal."

She laughed silently. "Moms are like that. That just means they love you."

_If she loved me, she would've gotten me out of that situation sooner. _"Answer me this Amy."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"How much do you think your moms love you?"

"Hmm, I'd have to say that they love me an awful lot."

"Why? It seems to me that they're never around."

"Sure, but they do make sure I have what I need and spend as much time as they can with me."

"Hmm…"

"Anything else?"

"No, not really."

"You don't like to talk much."

"I like to keep to myself."

"Why?"

"Uh," What was I supposed to tell her? That my dad's a crook in jail. That he took a lot from me. That because of him, I'm not sure if I'm still considered a virgin.

"Weren't you ever noticed at home Sonic? You mom seems to be fairly on top of things."

_Oh, I was noticed all right, but noticed by the wrong person. _"Now that you mention it, no"

"Really, not even by your own brother or… your dad?"

Terrible memories came back to me and I couldn't speak or move. The memories frightened me so much that I was paralyzed. As much as I wanted to run away, I couldn't. Those memories seemed so real that I had to leave without thinking, but I couldn't. That bastard did this to me.

Then, echoing in my ear was, "Sonic. Sonic. Sonic?" Amy was shaking my arms and looked at me worriedly. I got that feeling again. I broke free from my prison cell. I got up right when she was the brink of tears.

"I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry Sonic."

"It wasn't your fault, honest." _It was my old man's fault._

"Yes, it is." I saw a tear fall and I automatically wiped it away. She blushed again.

I smiled. The rest of the day was… okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone, Annie here, taking a sick day to update. Hope you enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Our way back was… silent. It was a nice silence though. You could hear nature's music very clearly. Actually, it was clearer that day than it had ever been before. Amy, at one point, got so comfortable with me that she actually rested her head on my shoulder as we walked. I gulped silently to myself. That kind of action has always been… alien to me. I was nervous, but at the same time, I'd say that I kind of liked it. This nice, but weird feeling I've been getting all day won't leave… but maybe I don't want it to leave me, ever.

She's nice sure. When you think about, this whole thing just gives more of a reason to keep away from her. I looked at her again, and somehow I was able to smile without hesitation. She likes me, to say the least. Maybe she'll understand and we can break this thing off when school starts. Considering I'm really the only kid around here who's around her age it would seem that I'll be the one she'll come to for some fun. Maybe, for once, my summer won't be so lonely.

I saw my mom knitting at the same time I felt Amy rise her head from my shoulder. Ma was sitting on the bench near the back door. She looked up when we blocked her light.

"Oh good, you're back."

"Excuse me, but what time is it?" Amy asked.

"Six, what were you two doing in there that took so long?"

I personally shrugged. Ma looked at us with this questioning look that she gets when she talks to her patients.

"Okay, then. Sonic, would you mind taking Amy home now?"

"I guess not." I didn't have anything better to do. I started leading Amy around the house to the from yard.

"I'll be inside when you get back," Ma shouted as we reached the front lawn.

"'Kay, Ma." I shouted back over my shoulder. It was when that I saw that we actually reached the front lawn that I paused and didn't move. Something just came to me. I… had no idea where Amy lived.

"What's wrong Sonic?"

"Uh, I…" I looked at her and she looked worried. "I just don't know where you live."

"Oh, I live just across the street. See?"

She pointed out her house and my eyes followed the direction she pointed. Two women were standing on the front porch waving towards us. I looked back at Amy and noticed her waving back.

"Are they…?"

"Yup, they're my moms."

Okay. One was a black cat with blonde hair in… I'd say a bun or whatever you call it. Her eyes seemed to have this gentle affect with the green color. It was almost mesmerizing even from a distance. The other looked just like Amy… just you know, bigger and older. My brother would classify them as "Hot Moms." I began to wonder to myself if same sex parents have an easier time raising a child. Amy seems totally normal. Her family is just a little different.

"Come on." Amy took my hand and pulled me across the street. I noticed how happy Amy was. When we made it to the stairs that led to the front porch, Amy let go of my hand and raced to give her moms a hug. I stood at the foot of the stairs and just observed. They kissed her forehead. My mom, although says that she loves me, never once did that. I felt an even greater sense of loneliness by watching her and her moms. I looked away.

"Oh, I almost forgot." I looked up. "This is Sonic, he lives across the street."

"Nice to meet you Sonic," said the cat. The other just smiled at me.

"Hello." Although it sounded more like a question to me.

"Would you like to come in for a bit?"

"Uh, I don't think I should. My mom's expecting me any minute now."

"Oh, well tell your mom thanks and we'll see you tomorrow.

"Okay."

They said their goodbyes and then walked into their house. I stayed where I was until I knew that they had settled in. I was about to leave when the door opened just a crack. Amy's eye looked at me and then she popped her head out. "Oh, good." She smiled and stepped out. She came down and said, "I almost forgot to thank you."

"For what?"

"For today. I had a nice time with you Sonic." She looked at me with a look that I was unfamiliar with. I wasn't sure if I had seen it before.

But I had to say something. "It was fun hanging out with you too Amy."

She giggled silently. She looked at me with… longing…? Or something. Then came something, that I didn't see coming at all. She kissed my right cheek, said "Goodnight." And then went back inside in a quick pace. I stood there, shocked at what just happened. She kissed me, a girl just kissed me. I just couldn't believe it. Girls normally ignored my guts and now… one I've known for only one day comes out and kissed me without hesitation. And… I liked it. I got that warm and fuzzy feeling more than ever at that moment in time. I felt my heart pumping out of control when I saw her closing in. I could still the tingle lingering on my cheek.

_What is this?_

I hoped that it wasn't hormones kicking in because I was afraid to become my brother.


	6. Chapter 6

Sonic's POV

I walked home in a daze. I even hit the front door head first. Dang it. Hopefully it won't bruise. I rubbed my forehead not noticing that my brother had opened the door when he heard the knock my head made when it hit the door.

"What's wrong lil' bro."

"Uh…" I brought my hand to the back of my head embarrassed. "Nothing." It sounded more like a question to tell you the truth. I was ashamed.

"Hm." He eyes me as if he was looking into my very soul… Or what was there that pass as a soul. Most days I feel like the life force isn't there. Let alone a soul within my body. Usually I can feel him peering in though. Hmm, I must still be getting over my… What do you call it? My… initial shock. "So, I heard you met the new neighbor."  
>"Yeah…" Where was he going with this?<p>

"Mom said you were gone for a really long time in the woods."

"So, what? I spend a lot of time back there all the time?" Of course, most of the time I end up going as far as the other side of planet sometimes. I have the power and mom never suspects that I ran off so far from the boundaries she's set.

"But with a girl?" Now I get it.

"Nothing happened. And you'd better stay away from her. She's just a kid." So was I though.

He let out a breath and turned away from me. "I know better than that Sonic." He sounded hurt. He even looked hurt. His red eyes kind of grayed and his quills didn't stick out quiet the same way. "I'm not Dad Sonic. I have my limits you know. And none of them are victims to say the least."

I swallowed. "I-I'm sorry Shadow. It's just that, well…"

"What?" He looked at me with his piercing red eyes. "It's just that, what?"

I looked away. I didn't notice my hand reach the spot on my cheek where Amy kissed me until it was too late.

"No way." I snapped my head from the clouds wondering why all of a sudden Shadow was speaking in a happier tone when he was angry with my no less than five seconds ago. "She kissed you didn't she?"

"No_." Aww man._ I said it too fast. _He's sure of it now. What have I gotten myself into? _

"Admit it Sonic." He playfully jabbed my shoulder the way only an older brother always does.

There was no way I could tell him otherwise. "Okay… so she did. But only on my cheek."

"Did you kiss her back?"He asked somewhat eagerly.

I knew he was going to ask that and a part of me thinks that I just jinxed myself.

"I couldn't. She went right back into her house right after." He looked at me suspiciously. "I probably wouldn't have either way. I was really frozen."

He laughed and ruffled my quills. "You're on your way champ." As I ran my fingers through my quills to fix them, I noticed how snazzy my bro looked.

"Where you headed?"

"Oh, house party." He walked past me.

But before he could reach the last step I asked, "Invited or crashing?" There has never been a party that Shadow didn't know about if it was being thrown by someone he knew personally or was an old classmate.

He looked back and grinned. "Invited."

"Hey bro?"

"Hm?"

_How do I phrase this? _"Do… you think I have a chance with her?" Listen to me. I know a girl only for a day and already want to be with her. And with my kind of rep too. I might be in way over my head, but … I want to at least get a taste of well…I guess relationship. Who knows when this might happen again?

"You mean to get into her pants?" I gave him a look that pretty much spelled my answer out for him. How could he say something like that to me when I'm still fairly scarred at the moment? I love my bro, but sometimes he can be a real pig and this just made me even more scared that I'll turn into my brother in the bad way that he is.

"Too soon?"

"I don't know. Let me think... Hmm… Um, duh…"

"Relax bro." He brought his hands off in a defensive position. As if I could cause him any harm. "I was just kidding."

"Then can you give me a real answer?"

He smiled a different kind of smile at that moment. It looked like a caring smile… towards me… and a real one too. I've seen him pull something like this with many of the girls he brought home, but I always knew it was all an act.

"Of course."

I smiled.

"If you ever need some advice, I'm always here."

"Well… what should I do now?"

"Sounds like she already likes you."

"Okay." Where was he going with this?

"Just spend time with her. Then, make your move."

"That's… possibly the best advice you've given since… like ever." We laughed.

"I'll see ya later bro."

"Later." I watched as he ran off. I'd wonder sometimes at times when I saw my bro run off like I do. _Why do we have super speed and yet no one in recorded history does? _It's something that has been eating away at my brain. I shrugged it off. The past would be the last place for me to look in to. I walked into the house with the intention of going straight to my room.

"Sonic?" And there she goes.

"Yeah, Ma?"

"Dinner's ready." Somehow, I thought that dinner wasn't the only thing she was calling me in for.

I walked into the kitchen and smelled the familiar scent of sloppy Joes being heated up. My mom smiled at me as I took a seat facing her.

"What's up Ma?"

"Nothing Sonic."

"Oh."

"But, how are you and Amy getting along?" I knew it.

"Fine. No problems."

"You didn't tell her anything that you shouldn't have?" She was heading my way with a plate with two of the sandwiches.

"Of course not Ma."

"Good boy. I'm proud of you. You know that?" She put the plate in front of me with a glass of water.

"For what?"

"For making a friend Sonic."

"Oh." Although, I kind of want to be more than just friends.

"Did you meet Amy's mothers?"

"Yeah, they seem to be really nice.

"You like them?"

"I guess, I mean they haven't given me a reason to not like them."

"So you're okay with them?"

"Honestly Ma…" I was finding a fairly good way to say this to her, "I'd rather have same sex parents without issues than a normal looking family with bad insides."

"I see." She swallowed as she looked at me picking one sandwich up and taking a bite. "I didn't think you would put it that way."

"It was weird for me Ma, but it also was interesting."

"Really? So there's absolutely no mind problem with you about their family situation?"

"Nope." What I said was true. At this point, being liked but judged because of my family doesn't sound like a bad idea. I mean, Amy seems perfectly normal.

"Good, because I invited them for dinner tomorrow."

"Sounds great"

"Oh that is such a relief Sonic?" I smiled and took another bite.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the wait you guys. I was surprised I could make a dent into this chapter.**

**But... here it is, enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

The next day, I got another rude awakening. I felt something hit my head. I groaned at the short lived pain.

"Come on Sonic. Get up." _Wha? Shadow?_

I sat up and rubbed my head. I looked at him half asleep. "What is it?"

"Phone." He held it up to level of his eyes. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and heard him come in and closer to my bed.

"Who could be calling me now?"

"It's 2 in the afternoon."

"Even so…" My bro looked at me kind of sympathetically. He knew most of what happened at school.

"It's Amy…" I looked at the phone in his hand a moment. He held it out to me, but when I reached out for it he pulled it back away from me. "Remember what I said little bro." He looked at me with one eyebrow cocked towards me.

I grinned. "Of course." He grinned back and handed me the phone. I was just about to greet Amy when I noticed the Shadow was still in my room. "Do you mind?" He looked behind him and then back at me acting clueless. "I was talking to you."

He faked being hurt. He placed his hand over where his heart should be and looked at me shocked and confused. "All right, fine. I know how it is." _There he goes again. _He started to walk out. "I know when I'm not wanted." He turned his head somewhat towards me when he reached the door way. "I'm going, don't mind me."He walked out still rambling until he reached his room down the hall.

"Drama King!" I shouted out at him.

"Sonic?" I heard faintly come from the phone.

"Hi Amy. What's up?"

"I just thought I'd call to see if we could um…"

"Hang?"

"Uh, yeah… that." She still sounded confused.

"I don't mind." In fact, I was hoping Amy would want to spend some time with me before dinner.

"Great. I'll be over in an hour."

"See ya then."

"Bye Sonic."

"Bye Amy." I hung up and got ready. My mom had me eat some leftovers and before I knew it Amy was back on my doorstep. I opened the door. "Hi…um Amy?" There was a pile of board games with legs… and… a skirt?!

"Hey Sonic." She poked her head from one side of the pile of the boxes. I saw that she was struggling with her load.

"Here let me help." I took a good chunk of the pile.

She sighed. "Thanks."

"Come in." I stepped to the side so she could walk in and then I shut the door with a gentle swing of my foot. I saw her walk into the living room and I followed her. She put down her pile of games on the coffee table my mom never uses.

I poked my head out from the side. "Did you really have to bring all of this?" I asked as I placed my half of the pile on the coffee table. I looked at her, awaiting her response. She looked at the boxes.

"Hmm. I probably should've stopped at four huh?"

"Four seems like a safe number." I nodded. "How did you manage to reach the porch?"

She giggled. "One step at a time. It wasn't easy though. I nearly fell twice."

"Sonic? Who was at the door?" Shadow came in. He looked at me and then at Amy and then back at me.

"Hi, are you Sonic's brother?" Amy asked.

Shadow smiled. "Hey, name's Shadow. You must be the new neighbor."

"Mh-hm." I heard come from Amy. Then I heard his cell phone ring.

"I'mma be upstairs if you need me." He left.

I looked at Amy. "He seems nice. Where's your mom?"

"She stepped out not too long ago. Should be back in an hour or so."

"All right." She looked at the two piles of boxes. "Which one do you want to open first?"

"Open?"

"Oh-uh." She looked away. I could see some tears forming in her eyes.

"Amy?" She slowly turned her head to look at me.

"I'm fine." She rubbed one of her eyes. "I just…" I hugged her. What else could I do?

"It's okay." I told her. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing. Comforting someone was never something I had done before. My whole life I'm the one who dealt with pain. I never thought that anyone else could suffer as much as I did… maybe even more. I held onto her a little while. She pushed me away gently and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath.

Just like that. She was back to normal. "So, which one first?"

I sighed, walked towards the boxes, and stood there looking at the boxes. I would only hear of some of them and some I didn't even know existed. I closed my eyes reached out and tapped one.

"Checkers it is." Amy exclaimed. After that, it was game after game. I had never known fun like this. Normally, I'd watch my classmates as they played, braided hair… the works. I never played… and never really paid much attention either.

After some time, Ma came home.

"Oh, Amy, you're here early."

"Hi Mrs. Hedgehog." I saw my mom slightly cringe.

"It's Ms. Um, Amy."

"If you say so, I guess." Amy looked a little confused but quickly smiled as she normally does.

Ma got a look of the pile near the coffee table. I had not notice how messy it actually looked now that we picked random boxes and got them out.

"Where did you pull all those games out Sonic?"

"I didn't, Amy brought them with her."

"Oh, well, how about you two go play outside for a while?"

Amy and I shared a glance. She shrugged her shoulders and shortly nodded her head at me.

"All right Ma. We'll be back by dark." We put the pieces of the game we were playing back into its box. I asked Amy, "You want to take one with us?"

"Hmm." She pressed her lips together before getting up and rummaging through the boxes. "How about this?" She held up the toy to her chest.

"A Frisbee?" _How did I not notice a Frisbee in the pile?_

"Yeah, I put it in an empty box so it wouldn't break when I piled it on with the rest."

_That's how… _Anyway, we left to go and play in the backyard. We stood a good five meters away or so.

"Ready?" Amy asked.

"Ready." I told her. She let it slide out of her hand and into mine. We kept throwing the toy back and forth. We were quite for a while until I finally said something.

"So Amy, um, did you have to transfer schools?"

"I did actually, but I haven't seen it yet."

"Are you sad?"

"No, at first I was. But… Mom told me that when one door closes another one opens."

"Oh."

"When you showed the kindness you did yesterday, I think that's when I started to believe her words." I smiled; it was nice to make someone feel good.

"That's great. I… hope you'll make new friends."

"You and me both." There was pause there before she spoke again. "Do you think that there are other parents like your mom?"

I paused with the toy in my hand. No two people are exactly alike, but many people can share a single character trait.

"Yeah there should be." I threw it back.

Amy smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her. I felt that welcoming feeling.

"Hey, Sonic, what's your school like?

She threw it but I didn't go for it. It landed a few feet away. "Umm… bearable." It sounded more like a question to me than I had hoped it would. She looked at me funny.

"What do you mean Sonic?" I looked away from her and stared at the Frisbee.

_What do I tell her?_ I heard her take a few steps closer to me.

"I won't think any less of you Sonic." She took a few more steps. "Well, if you want to tell me anyway. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to." I turned to look at her. I paused when I noticed just how close our faces were. I had to take a step back if I was going to speak anymore. "It's just not that simple."

"To tell the story or the… whatdoya call it? Oh, the plot of the story."

I sighed. "A little bit of both." I sat down bringing my head into my hands. I heard Amy sit down next to me.

She rubbed my back and said, "It's okay Sonic."

I took a deep breath and brought my head out of my hands. "Thanks Amy."

She smiled sympathetically. I couldn't bring myself to curve my mouth into even a slight smile. She nudged my arm. I smiled slightly. We sat there for a little bit listening to the wind and birds. It was a nice kind of silence. You could see the sun going down behind the trees. The leaves seemed to change colors.

"Kids! Dinner's ready!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, here's the next chapter. Thank you for the words of praise... and I'll be sure to update again soon.**

**Until then, Enjoy!**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

When Amy and I walked in, I noticed that my brother wasn't sitting at the table where he would be. _Must've stepped out as usual. _Our plates were set up across from Amy's moms with my mom at the head of the table. We took our seats. I saw Ma made some baked chicken, baked potatoes, steamed vegetables, and lemonade. I took to wondering if Shadow had anything to do with this.

When we were little or at least when I was little, he was more of a father to me than a brother. Ma was always busy and thinking that Dad was okay staying at home taking care of the kids. She was wrong. He was never a father to me or to Shadow. Shadow described it as learning to be on your own but with a monster in your house. When I came around, Shadow took it upon himself to play father. I was his first concern when he came home. He would fix me something to eat, play with me, even played his bass for me when I was scared. The thing was, he wasn't always there either. When he came home, I'd get sanctuary. I would stare at the clock counting the seconds until he came home.

Amy's mom, the cat asked as she served herself some chicken, "Did you two have fun today?"

We glanced at each other a moment. We smiled and nodded. "It was great." Amy told her.

Amy's mom smiled. "That's great."

"How many games did you two play?" asked the older hedgehog.

Amy was serving herself as she answered, "Um, five maybe. I'm just sorry for the mess." She was looking at Ma.

"Oh, it's okay Amy." My mom said. That was actually the first time a mess of fun and games was left in the living room.

"How many more do you have to go through?" Her mom asked again.

"Mmm…" She was chewing on a bite of chicken. "This is really good Ms. Hedgehog."

"Thank you Amy." Ma seemed to be more at ease than I have ever seen her been. I don't know if it's her career that makes her seem stressed all the time or if that's just her face, either way, she looked fine then and there.

"Oh and um," she was going back to the question, "about twenty I think."

"Thirty." I piped in. They all looked at me intrigued. "I counted." I said as if I read their minds. They all nodded in understanding. Not much to see into it though. It's a kindergarten fundamental.

When I took a bit of the potato the cat asked, "So Sonic, I hear you play the guitar?"

"You do?" Amy turned to look at me.

I nodded since I had my face stuffed.

"How long have you been playing?" Amy asked.

"About four years." When my mom got me out of where I was, she said she'd get me whatever I wanted… except for a new family. I always thought the strum of a guitar was cool and being able to make that sound on my own was really cool to me. That guitar helped me cope with my pain when I didn't have any homework to do.

"Was it hard to learn?"

I shrugged. "Learning is learning. Seems to be the same to me, so no, not really."

"So you're good at school then?"

"I guess… the school environment is working okay for me."

"What do you mean?" She cocked her head.

"Some…times it's the way you learn that affects how well you do.

"Huh?"

"Hm." _How do I explain this? _"Sometimes… a kid might learn better if he or she… were homeschooled then for them to go to regular school."

"Oh, so it's just another way that we're all different?"

"Exactly."

"You're a real smart kid Sonic." The cat said. I had just noticed that the grownups hadn't said anything.

"I guess."

"Do you think you could tutor Amy once school starts again?"

"Uh…" I looked at Ma for some guidance. She gave me her it's-up-to-you look. "What does she need help in?"

"Social Studies and Science." Understanding and memorization.

"No problem."

"You sure?" She eyed me a little.

I looked at Amy. She smiled sweetly, as if she had no idea what was going on. "Yeah." I nodded. "I've never tutored but I don't see why I would be bad at it."

"Great. How does five dollars an hour sound?"

"For what?"

"For your time of course."

"Oh, um all right. I guess." Getting paid and hanging with Amy seemed like a good idea to me. Though I could care less as to how much I would earn, I had an excuse already planned out to see Amy after school when no one could see her around me. I looked over to Amy. She didn't notice though. She was mixing… butter I think, into the potato.

The rest of the time, I wondered why Amy and I were even there. The grownups were doing most of the talking then. Amy and I stayed quiet unless we were spoken to in the first place. After the dinner, Ma suggested that Amy and I should go into the living room. I figured they were going to talk "adult" or stuff that the average kid really doesn't care about at all. Either way, Amy and I would be alone for another little while before she had to head home.

"Your mom's a really good cook Sonic."

"Hmm, I guess." She looked at me funny. I wasn't quite sure why though. It got uncomfortable so I had to think fast. "How about we watch a movie?"

Amy studied me a moment. Then in a blink of an eye she was smiling and said, "Okay, what do you have?"

I sighed in relief. I had Amy choose from the small shelf next to the TV while I got the remote. She chose The Lion King. Funny thing was… I didn't remember ever watching it, let alone remember getting it. I popped it in and we settled onto the couch.

"So you've never seen The Lion King?" She was shocked all around.

"Nope."

"Oh." She seemed sad but I wasn't sure for what. All I said was that I hadn't seen the movie before.

_What's the big deal?_

"Well… then you're in for a big treat." I hadn't quiet realized how fast Amy can go from being down to giggling and smiling. Weird, but I wished I could take the bad things and see the silver lining that fast. I sat back and watched the story unfold.

When it came to the big tearjerker, I was shocked. It seemed extremely tragic for movie for kids. I put an arm around Amy. I knew she was about to cry. She dug her head into my chest. I could feel her breathing. She grabbed onto my shirt. It almost hurt. I ran my hand through her quills repeatedly. I wasn't sure how long it was that we stayed like that but I have to say… I kind of liked it. It was nice to be her shoulder to cry on. It almost felt like I had a purpose. When she brought her head back up, she started to rub her eyes. I smiled sympathetically at her she gave me a small smile back.

"Ahem." All three moms were in front of the TV, but they were behind the coffee table. _How did they do that? _

I felt a blush on my face. I stole a glance at Amy and I noticed that her face was red too.

"Time to go Amy." The hedgehog told her.

"Okay Mom." She got off the couch, turned to me and said, "Goodbye Sonic."

"Bye Amy."

"Same time tomorrow?" She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Yeah, sounds good." She smiled. That's when I noticed something. Her games were gone. "Hey, what happened to your stuff?" She took around worried.

"Don't worry about it." Ma said. "Shadow took them back."

Amy sighed in relief. "That was really nice of him." All three moms nodded. Amy brought her attention back to me. "I'll see ya tomorrow then Sonic."

"See ya." She went around the table and took her mom's hand. "Bye Mrs. … and Mrs. … um." I wasn't quite sure which name they would prefer.

"Rose." The hedgehog mom said.

"Oh, okay… bye Mrs. and Mrs. Rose."

"You'll get used to it." Amy said. I nodded.

"Well, it was nice to have you all over." Mom said when they took a step out the door.

"Thank you for having us."

"Anytime."

They left and I felt a little hollow inside. I figured it was because Amy wasn't with me anymore. _Am I supposed to feel like this?_ I was hoping it was normal.

"Sonic, what were you two doing?" She was walking back into the living room.

"What do you mean Ma?"

"I mean, when we came in." She sat down next to me.

"She was crying so I hugged her. Is that a crime?" I said defensively. If this was going where I thought it was going, I probably won't speak to Ma for maybe a day to a week. _Does she not trust me? My own mother?_

"Well no." she struggled to get it out.

"Then there's nothing to talk about." I got up kind of angry.

"Now hold on a minute Sonic."

I looked back as I approached the stairs. She had gotten up and looked at me worriedly. "I'm sorry. I guess…" She sighed. "I guess I'm a little paranoid."

"A little?"

She sighed. "You're right you're right. I'm just blowing this out of proportion. I'm sorry son, really." She approached me.

"I'm going to bed." I didn't want to talk. I went up to my room, locked the door and went to bed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay. Sorry for the long wait and I really couldn't write and I hope you all understand.**

**Anyway, I got it done so here you go.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

For the next three days I pretty much avoided mom. When it comes to grudges, I can keep one for longer than the average kid. Hey, when you have my dad, that's one grudge you just can't let go. Amy had come by every day since the dinner. She'd call and come by an hour later or so. I would wonder to myself why she waited until two to call. I'd get up earlier if it'll make the day last longer.

We were out by the pond skipping rocks. "Say Amy."

"Yeah?" She was kneeling close to the edge looking for another stone.

"What do you do in the morning before you come over?"

"Oh, well I spend some time with my mom."

"Which one?" I watched her as she looked for a flat stone.

"The one who looks just like me."

"I see. So, she doesn't work?" She stood up with a rock in her hand.

"She does, but she works in the afternoon as a chef."

"Really?" I smiled and cocked my eyebrow at her. She looked at me with a slight confused look on her face.

"Yeah." She skipped the rock without a second thought.

"That's really cool."

As if she was trying to acknowledge my enthusiasm she said, "She does tend to bring some… interesting food home." She looked a little uncomfortable for a few seconds. Something's up.

"Something wrong?" I went ahead and released the one that I had been holding since I asked the first question.

"Uh…"

"Too personal?" Is it the whole trouble with the two moms scenario again?

"I don't think that it is." She was questioning herself again.

I sighed. "Okay." She needed to say something and I was determined to listen. I sat down and looked at her. She looked at me confused. "What's wrong Amy?"

"I…" She came and sat down next to me. "I WANT YOU TO BE NICE TO YOUR MOM AGAIN!" The next thing I knew, she was crying and sobbing into my chest. It took me by great surprise. I had never heard her raise her voice like that before and… it kind of scared me. I couldn't move for some moments as I was trying to process the whole thing. I took in a breath when I noticed I hadn't taken one since she yelled. At that point, I was thinking straight again so I wrapped my arm around her and stroke her head a few times.

"Sh…"

"Why have you been mean to your mom?" At least, that's what I thought she was trying to tell me. She was crying so much her voice broke every second. I give her credit for being so observant these past few days. But I wouldn't say that I was being mean exactly. I acknowledged her when she came home

Amy calmed down a bit before she asked me, "Why?"

I sighed. "Well, she hurt my feelings because she thought I wasn't behaving myself with you." She wouldn't get what I really meant and I wanted to keep it that way… at least until she figured it out for herself. She took her head away from my chest. With tears in her eyes she looked at me with a weird look.

She wiped an eye. "Why would she think that?"

_Oh boy. _"Mmm, because she's been a little crazy since my dad left."

"So, he's alive?" She looked surprised. I was confused.

"Yeah… wait you thought he was dead?"

"I just… Thought umm." She looked away.

I smiled. "Eh, it's okay." I nudged her shoulder playfully.

"I really am sorry." She looked back at me. "It must be really hard knowing that your parents don't love each other anymore."

I would have said, "You kidding, I was praying for the day he would leave and never come back." Instead, I said "My dad… and me never really got along. I'm fine with the whole thing."

She cocked her head. "Sooo… you don't visit him?"

"No."

"You never bonded at all?"

"Sort of…" I looked away.

"You…" I looked back at her awaiting her to finish her question. "You don't think he loves you?"

I would have said, "Think? I know he didn't." Instead I said, "You wouldn't understand."

"Why?"

"You weren't there." I felt myself falling more and more into a dark despair with every word I said.

"Sonic?"

"Hm." She was on her knees next to me. Where was she going with this? She took my head into her arms and pressed it against her chest. She stroked my head. At first, I was shocked. Only my ma ever held me like this before. It felt nice… right even, as if she was meant to help me with my condition.

She pulled away, we studied each other and she asked, "Better?" She smiled.

I had to smile back. "Much."

She sat down next to me again. "About your mom…"

I chuckled, "I'll talk to her, I promise." Within a single second her face seemed to glow with the prettiest smile I had ever seen.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. After I got home from walking Amy to her door I walked into the kitchen expecting to find Ma. Instead, Shadow was in the kitchen. "Hey Sonic. You hungry?"

"I could go for something." I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't speak to Ma. "Where's Ma?"

"She volunteered for a late shift"

"Oh." I looked down. I felt my brother study me with suspicion.

"Sit down Sonic." I listened and sat at the table.

"So tell me," he said while I looked down at the table, "how'd it go with Amy today?" He placed a plate with two chilidogs in front of me. For the first time ever I felt a little sick looking at just one.

"Fine." I stared at the food feeling guilty. Ma never takes an extra shift unless something has her upset.

"You don't look too happy."

"Really?"

"What's wrong kid? Usually you would have finished by now."

"Ha, very funny." I said sarcastically. I looked up at him.

"Come on kid. Tell me what happened with Amy."

"It's not about Amy."

"Then what?"

I sighed.

"Is it Mom?"

I nodded.

He got up and grabbed the lemonade from the fridge. He poured some for me and himself. When he sat back down, he asked, "What did you do?"

"Remember when Amy and her moms came over for dinner?"

"Wait, moms?" I looked at him knowing that we both looked very confused.

"You didn't know?"

"No, you or Mom never said anything."

"You never asked."

"I don't think you ask your little brother if his girlfriend has lesbian moms."

"She's not my girlfriend… yet. And I take some offense to that." I turned in my seat not wanting to look at him.

"Listen bro, I've got nothing against gays, bisexuals or lesbians or… anything else. Just never thought a case like that would end up moving into this neighborhood."

"I never thought we'd end up here either."

"No one here knows our story. Their case is in plain sight."

I sighed and turned in my seat again so that I could face my big brother.

"We're off topic. Yeah I remember. I went out with the guys."

"Well, to cut to the chase, Ma saw me hugging Amy and thought there was more to it."

"Hang on." He held his hand up to signal stop. "A hug? That's it." He said it as if he was disappointed in me.

"I don't think a first kiss comes when your parents are just in the other room."

"Hmm." He stroked his chin. "I have taught you well young one." He bowed his head. I laughed at him.

"Nope, just seen a lot on cable."

"Thanks for ruining my moment of triumph as an older brother." He said faking being angry with me. We both laughed. "So Mom freaked out over a hug?" He looked like he was going to burst out laughing again.

"Yeah, I was so upset that she thought that I could-"

"Be anything like the old man?"

"Uh-huh." Suddenly my light mood vanished as fast as it came.

"She's got the wrong one huh?"

I looked at him curiously wondering what he meant.

"If any one of us is the most like Dad it's me."

"That doesn't really make me feel any better bro." He's supposed to be my male role model and that bit of info just doesn't' help. I placed my elbow on the table and propped my head on my hand.

"Sorry. Okay different approach then."

I just looked at him not that interested anymore.

"Listen kid, I've been around the block a couple of times-"

"A couple?" I said acting surprised. "You? No way!"

"Ha-ha. Very funny lil' bro."

I laughed. "Sorry. Go on."

He cleared his throat. "Your little romance is completely innocent." He told me as if to act like my teacher.


	10. Chapter 10

**This one was really a filler... And then it got a mind of it's own.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

After we finished our meal, bro left to see if he "could find some action…" He didn't tell me why he was leaving all alone after our little chat, but whenever he doesn't say anything I end up with a rude awakening when he stumbles home. I could only hope that he wouldn't bring her or them home. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to bust open his head every time he brought someone home with him. He's lucky that Mom can sleep through anything.

With Ma mentioned, I remembered what I promised Amy earlier. I would rather get this whole thing over with instead of putting it off and having to disappoint Amy in the afternoon tomorrow. That and I wanted to watch a South Park marathon. I stood up getting grossed out and laughing at the sheer stupidity provided by the events and the characters. The drama and crap these kids go through makes me feel better about myself. A few hours in I heard Ma's car coming up the driveway. I turned off the TV and met her at the door.

"Oh, Sonic." She looked exhausted and I would think kind of annoyed and sad at the same time. "What are you doing up?"

I felt sorry for her when I looked at her. But maybe forgiveness might help her a bit. "Just to say I'm sorry for these past few days is all Ma."

She smiled warmly at me in that way only a mother could and gave me a great big hug. She kissed my head a few times and said, "I'm sorry too Sonic." She gave me another squeeze. "I really shouldn't have accused you like that. You've always been a good boy."

"Always?" I asked a little suspiciously. Was there something she wanted from me again? I knew she couldn't possibly believe that with Blake getting his kicks from framing me and watching my own mother side against me indirectly.

"Well with me you are…" She looked at me just slightly letting me go from her grasp. "And with Amy too." She let go of me and cupped my face with her hands. "Oh, I can't believe how grown up you are Sonic."

"And not a teen yet." I said kind of funny.

"Even then you still need your sleep." She let go of my face. "Now go on." She pointed at the staircase.

"Aww Ma." I made my way to the stairs acting as if I was in quite the slump. I chuckled to myself.

"Go. I promised Amy's mothers you'd take her to the carnival tomorrow."

"You what?" I turned back around wondering if my ma had completely gone bonkers. Amy couldn't be seen with me in public.

"I said you're going to take Amy to the carnival tomorrow."

"By myself?"

"You're responsible Sonic." Somehow I felt like that was more of a question just hidden away in her voice.

"I am but-"

"Please Sonic. Her moms are busy and she really wants to go."

Something popped into my head with her last sentence. "Why didn't she say anything?"

All of a sudden she looked guilty. "I might have promised it this afternoon when I went to the restaurant that Amy's mom worked at." She looked away.

"And you didn't tell me?" Unbelievable. Ma's are supposed to keep you informed on what they want you to do. How could she do this to me?

"How could I? You didn't want to speak to me since the dinner. Please Sonic. Do this and if Amy comes back really happy then I'll never suspect you of foul play with her ever again."

So that was her game. She was thinking: Let me have a night with Amy on my own. If she came back her bubbly self I was trustworthy with a completely innocent girl. If she came back disturbed or scared in the slightest I'd be put to Ma's prying. I understood that it was nice for some reassurance on what I already told her. Something like this was pretty big and many could get hurt. But did having Amy come by every afternoon not tell her anything? We were alone in the woods most of the time. Did she really have to go and do that to me?

If anyone were to recognize me it would be all over. I'd go back to being the uncool loner and Amy would be forced to side against me. Even if she didn't go to my school this year, whoever saw us was sure to spill and eventually Blake would know and ruin my chances. It was too early in the summer for me to be stressing.

"Are you sure about this Ma?"

"Yes." She looked at me weird. "Why? I though you really liked Amy."

_You have no idea. _"I do but… I-I don't know if I'm ready to go to the carnival on my own. And with a girl."

She smiled warmly at me again as if she actually believed that I was just nervous about taking Amy out in public. "You'll be all right Sonic." She came to me and patted my head. "After all you two play in the woods all day and you always come back safe and sound."

_Even with that evidence you still think I'm up to something. _"And if I don't want to go?"

"Come now Sonic," she said annoyed with me. "You always want to go." She was right. The carnival we had every year early in the summer was one of the few events that I had to look forward to every year. A kid and his ma always had a good time.

I didn't want to keep arguing and trying to weasel myself out of this. It looked liked Ma really wanted me to do this. "Well I guess I'll go."

She said, "Good boy. Now get some sleep. I don't want Amy to have to carry you home because you collapsed because of lack of sleep.

I tried to laugh as I turned and went up the stairs. I sighed. Oh, Ma didn't have the slightest clue as to what she sentenced me to. What was I going to do? Just go along with it and wear a red cap and I would hope that no one would identify me?

It's so simple and stupid… it just might work!


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the wait readers. There came a little stress for me and I really wanted to deliver with this chapter because it's like an unofficial date, if you would like to call it that, for Sonic and Amy. Tell me how I do. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

At the festival, I kept my head down as we seem to enter the middle of the whole thing. I looked around hoping I wouldn't find someone that I knew from school. With Amy excited and me not paying attention I didn't expect her to pull me by the hand towards the Ferris wheel.

"Gah!"

"Come on Sonic!" I kept my hands on my cap to keep it from flying off.

"Slow down Amy. It's not going anywhere." Funny how those were the words that my ma would use in these kind of situations with me as the subject instead of Amy. Eh, must be the nerves.

We reached the line. Amy panted softly and grabbed her knees. "Sorry Sonic. I just really love this ride." She flashed me another one of her fabulous smiles. I smiled back and took a look at the ride. Nothing special really. Once you've ridden one you've ridden them all.

"You have the tickets, right Sonic?"

"No worries Ames."

"Who?" She looked at me funny.

"Sorry. It just sort of… rolls off the tongue."

She giggled. "That's okay Sonic. I actually like the name."

I was fairly deep in relief that I only faintly heard, "Sonic." And then again, only a little louder, until I somehow came back down to Mobius and got on the ride with Amy. Up we went. At the jolt, Amy practically leapt in my lap. I put my arm around her and she in turn rested her head on my chest. I hadn't realized before but this was really starting to seem like second nature to me. I kept my other hand on my cap.

"Hey Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you wearing a hat?"

"I… just wanted to."

"Oh, okay."

I let out a breath. "Hey, Amy?"

"Hmm."

"Why do you love the Ferris wheel?"

"Well, because it was the first ride I could remember that me and my moms could ride together."

"Really?" I still couldn't believe how she can be so carefree and yet ends up saying something pretty darn deep when I least expect it. Amazing really.

"Uh-huh. How about you? What's your favorite?"

"I'm not sure." I thought about it, looking back at my happy memories. "I don't think that I have a favorite ride, but I do love the whole toss in a ping pong ball into the fish bowl thing."

She brought her head up. "Really? Why?"

"I won my first pet that way." I smiled, but then it faded away as I looked away from her remembering a bit of my past.

"What happened to him?"

"Her actually. I named her Lizzie." I looked back at her.

"Why Lizzie?" She blinked a few times.

"My mom wanted a girl named Lizzie."

She giggled.

"So I thought we share her."

"What happened to Lizzie?"

I sighed. "My dad happened." I paused upon seeing Amy's expression. She knew this wasn't going to be fond memory.

"He thought I did something wrong and punished me by flushing her down the toilet before it was her time."

I saw her eyes grow with shock and I heard her slightly gasp. "I'm sorry Sonic. Did you get a new fish?"

"No, I felt for the longest time I would betray Lizzie if I replaced her just like that."

"And now?"

"I tell myself at the end of the day if I can make it in the first round then I'd bring that fish home."

Amy smiled. "You think you can win two this time?"

I looked at her and chuckled a little. "We'll see."

When we got off, I let Amy pull me where ever it was she wanted to go. Somehow I ended up in a small petting zoo and nearly got hit by a goat. At least the rabbits took away the bit of stress I was under. I actually almost took one from the petting zoo before a caretaker stopped me. We stopped a few times for cotton candy, hot dogs… popcorn, and a lot more stuff I couldn't remember. In this tunnel ride thing Amy planted another one on my cheek.

By the time we got to the stand, it was past dusk. With three tries and Amy jumpy right next to me, I aimed for a white one with an orange dot on its forehead. I tossed… and I missed. I tried again… I missed again. I was feeling really discouraged.

Amy told me, "Well, you've got one more shot," as she gave my hand a squeeze. I looked at her; she smiled and gave me back a little confidence. I tossed… I made it in. "You did it!" Before I could even react, Amy gave me the mother of all bear hugs.

"A-Amy, c-can't breathe."

"Oh." She let go.

I gasped in a breath.

"Sorry, I just got excited." She smiled embarrassingly.

I was handed the little guy. The boar who was working the booth told me, "You were sure lucky kid."

"Thanks." _I think._

"Awe, she's totally cute." Amy said as she admired the little creature in the plastic bag.

"You think so?" I asked as an idea quickly forming in my head.

"Uh-huh." She smiled gleefully.

"Then why don't you take her?"

Amy looked surprised at me and then at the fish. "Oh, no Sonic. I couldn't." She shook her head back and forth.

"I insist." I held out the bag to her.

She looked at the fish and then at me pondering on whether or not to accept the fish.

"Then let me try to win one for you."

"What?" I was sure wasn't expecting that.

Before I could react any further, she said, "_I Insist _Sonic. It's only fair." The next thing I knew, Amy was full of confidence and held three small ping pong balls in her hand. I had half a mind to stop her but when I saw that look of pure determination in her face, I got the feeling that I wasn't going to have any luck talking her out of it at all. She tossed and… It. Went. In?

"Ha, yes!" Amy exclaimed. It did go in… I stood there possibly looking like an idiot while Amy adored the prize she won. "Look Sonic."

"Hm?" I snapped out of it and looked at the little fella. It was your standard goldfish that was its species' trade mark solid color.

"He's perfect." She held him out to me. I smiled and we switched bags.

"Thanks Amy." She smiled at me. "This means a lot."

"You're welcome Sonic."

"Sonic?" I knew that voice. I looked behind me to find… "Tails?"

"It is you."

"Um, hey." I pulled the fish behind me and hid Amy behind me. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I live a block away."

"Ah." I faked a smile trying to figure out what the heck to do. I had to get out of here but I couldn't just burst out running. I chance making a huge mess and then explaining everything to Amy.

I saw him tilt his head so I leaned to my side. "Who's your friend?"

"Hi, I'm Amy." She somehow got past me. _Oh no. _"What's your name?" _She's talking to him!_

"Miles, but everyone calls me Tails."

"You don't say." I saw Amy point towards his namesakes.

Tails chuckled. "Yeah, exactly." There was an awkward pause. I was still getting over the fact that they were talking… like nothing. It was all chill. "So, are you like Sonic's cousin?"

"No, I'm his neighbor." Tails studied Amy and then looked at me being mortified.

"I see."

"Sonic are you okay?" Amy asked me. I shook my head and got to thinking.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"You look weird."

"Do I?" I had to get us out of here. Now. The first thing that popped into my head was, "Well, it's been nice seeing you Tails, but I better get Amy home now." I said almost frantically.

"Relax Sonic, this is me you're talking to. I won't say anything." I saw him being his hand over his heart.

Considering that he really was the only one I could ever trust in school I calmed down. "Thanks then."

He smiled. "No prob."

"I'm confused." Amy said. "Wait, weren't you the new kid before me?"

"I guess." He looked at me wondering what I told her.

"Yeah, you were the one who gave up being Sonic's friend." She pointed at him and looked angry. That really scared me and I could tell he was scared too. "How could you?!"

"I-I didn't mean it. I was scared of what Blake would do to me."

"So you just left Sonic to fend for himself!?" She took her arms and placed them both at her sides so straight it hurt to look at her. She took a step toward him.

He looked at me hoping I would do something. "Remember Amy I told him to do it. He wasn't going to last like I have." She looked at him and then at me repeatedly. She seemed to calm down after a while.

"I'm sorry Tails… I guess I got a little defensive." She looked at him with guilt and low and behold she looked adorable even when she's apologizing.

"I-It's okay Amy. Maybe I should have stuck it out a little longer. I guess I didn't really try." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked down.

"At least you've learned your lesson." Amy said.

Tails and I shared a look. I shrugged.

"Hey this is perfect." Amy clasped her hands together and looked at us excitedly.

We shared another look. He asked, "What is?"

"If you're going to be friends with Sonic again then you can keep him company while I'm gone."

"Hang on," I was really confused, "What do you mean by while you're gone?"

"Sorry Sonic I guess I forgot to tell you that I'm going to visit my grandparents for the next two weeks."

I wanted to say, "Ya think." Instead, I said, "No problem Amy."

"Now, you will keep Sonic company. Won't You?" She gave him her begging look. I knew he couldn't resist.

"Y-yeah. It'll…" He looked at me. "It'll be fun."

"Be sure to snap pictures." Amy giggled out.

"For what?" I asked.

"As proof." She folded her arms over chest. "I'm not going to let him go back on his word."

Tails looked at me with a face that asked _Is she for real? _I nodded.

Tails sighed. "All right. I'll make sure I bring a camera."

"Good. Now we need to get home." Amy told him.

"Mind if I tag along a while? I have to head that way anyway."

"Why not?" I told him. "I can't believe you remember how to reach my house still." We started walking with Amy in the middle and us boys at the ends. Like an automated command Amy took my hand in hers and I hoped that Tails didn't catch it.

When we reached his house, he said, "My stop's here. Have a nice trip Amy. Sonic, I'm going to have to see you Monday. Family reunion this weekend and all. Bye."

Amy and I said our goodbyes as he walked to his door. We headed for her house since Amy's hedgehog mom told me her partner would be home by nine and that I should wait with Amy until she got home.

"So Sonic, do you still have your old bowl?"

"It was a small tank, but yeah I still have it and I even have an extra."

"Really?" She looked at me kind of hopeful.

"Yep."

"Could I… possibly…" She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Yes, you can have it." I smiled at her.

She nuzzled her head into my neck. "Thank you Sonic. But why do you have an extra?"

I looked at the ground.

"Sonic?" I looked back at Amy. She looked worried.

I let out a small smile and sighed. "After my dad flushed Lizzie, I wouldn't let anyone go near her tank. My Aunt Thora bought me another fish with everything it needed."

"You didn't want it, did you?"

"No, I didn't. I didn't want to go near it. My brother ended up caring for it for like three years."

"Uh-huh."

"Amy, are you leaving tomorrow?" Something had just occurred to me.

"Yeah why?"

"Then maybe I should take your fish home with me too because I don't think you'll be able to travel with a fish."

"You're right. So, you won't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind." I gave her hand a squeeze. She smiled at me. Soon enough we were in front of her house. The lights were on. "Looks like your mom's home."

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?" I looked at her ever so curious. She slipped her bag into my hand and kissed me again, this time, not on my cheek. It only lasted maybe two seconds but boy did those seconds seem to drag. It almost seemed like a dream where everything seemed to be all right… Not even Blake or my Dad could hurt me.

Before I could react though, she said, "Bye Sonic," and ran into her house. Again, there I was wondering how she could just do that when girls in my past have never looked twice at me. And again, I stood there staring at her door still feeling the tingle on my lips and that warm feeling. Eventually, I actually brought up a smile on my face. I stood there, knowing that one little kiss was my first and that it will be first of many I'll share with Amy.


	12. Chapter 12

**So, this isn't a sonamy chapter but still pretty big on Sonic's part and the longest chapter of the story yet. **

**Amy'll be back next chapter. Promise.**

**And Rahmiya, sorry I didn't address this earlier, I think I'll take on your idea.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Late afternoon on a Monday, Shadow threw a pen at my head. "Ow!" I got up wondering, _What the heck man?_

He laughed.

"A simple "Wake up." would have worked too you know." I rubbed my forehead.

"But what fun would that be my little brother?" He mustered after he was through with his little laughing fit.

I rubbed my eyes knowing that if I go back to sleep he was just going to wake me up via throwing something else at my head. "Is there like any reason you woke me up?"

"You've got a visitor."

"Huh?"

"Yeah." He nodded joining me in my confusion. "Weird. This little fox boy said he was your friend."

"Tails?!" I suddenly remembered that night at the carnival. _How could I forget? _I mentally slapped myself.

"That's his name?" He said faking being surprised and looking at me funny.

"Very funny bro."

"Okay, I'm done." I groaned and fell back on my bed. "Listen champ I've got the little guy in the kitchen."

"You made lunch?" I knew it couldn't be morning anymore.

"I'm not about to leave two growing boys hungry. Look I've got a date to keep. Mom should be back in a few hours. Just don't break anything."

"Duh." Sheesh. It was as if I had gone back in time.

He left. I went downstairs to find Tails munching on some chicken tenders. I saw the camera next to him. I chuckled to myself. _He's actually going to do what Amy told him to do. _

"Morning." I said. He turned around as I walked towards the table. And followed me with his eyes as I took my seat across from him where I saw a plate and a glass of water waiting for me.

"You mean good afternoon."

"Right."

"You know a little warning of your slumber patterns would have been most helpful."

I laughed. "Sorry man. How long were you waiting for me anyway?"

He said, "About two hours or so." all nonchalantly.

I nearly choked at the thought.

"Whoa chill. I was perfectly fine. Your brother kept me well entertained in your absence." It was funny how he could talk like normal and mix in some smart words or phrases. Kid was smart… but still a kid none the less.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Who knows what he could said to him… or done. I kept my mind from giving me some messed up images. _Bad Sonic. Bad Sonic. _I repeated in my head. I knew my brother wasn't a sick-o.

"Funny. Tossing a baseball around doesn't seem like something out of the ordinary at all."

"Baseball?" We didn't own one.

"I brought it over with a pair of mitts. My mom thought it would be a good idea."

"Oh." The rest of lunch was filled with silence and plain small talk. It wasn't until we went outside that any awkwardness was gone. We started to throw the baseball around in the back.

"So how did you and Amy meet anyway?"

I was wondering when he'd actually have the balls to ask me that. "She moved in across the street. Her moms met my mom who mentioned me and they thought it was a good idea for us to be friends."

"Hang on." He held the ball in his glove. "Did you just say… her moms?" He looked at me with a mix of you better not be messing with me and are you freaking for real, in his face.

"Heh, took me by surprise too when I first found out."

"Interesting, I've never heard of a couple like that around here before."

"They're really nice."

"I would think so I mean, Amy seems _to_ be really… sweet." It was almost like he was questioning himself or seeing if what he said fazed me. I guess he thought I would be protective of her. Like an older brother. He then started to look nervous. "Uh, hey did you tell Amy about your super power?"

I let him change the subject because he looked fairly uncomfortable. "It's not a power as it is as an enhanced ability." I took a pause to think. We went back to throwing it back and forth. "You know, now that I think about it, no I haven't."

"But somehow Blake manages to come into a conversation."

"She asked." My voice somehow went up a little higher and cracked. Damn puberty. I saw him cover up a smile with his glove. I cleared my throat and said, "I couldn't lie to her. She was my first real friend in a long time." We were silent. He looked lost. Suddenly, I felt pretty bad for him. New topic. "So, what do your parents do?"

He seemed a little less lost… but still a little… er… out of his element I would guess. "They're the head of a lab that researches plant biology." Troubled… definitely troubled.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Not in particular." I eyed him and held the ball in a fist.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that."

He chuckled. "I've been told."

I laughed.

The rest of the time Amy was gone I was either on my own for the day or Tails would stop by and we mindlessly throw around something. That Friday before Amy would come home I actually went over to his house. It was a seriously a hot day… Perfect for testing out Tails' new video game that he'd been working on. He had it in his laptop in his room.

It was as big as my living room and I was shocked to see that the walls were moving farther away. But other than its size it seemed to be pretty average. A bed, a desk, a few lamps, a laptop, a few posters, and a full book shelf. This kid really had a science and invention theme going on. The lamps were decorated in nut and bolts. The wall paper was all test tubes and beakers and such. The book case was filled with either non-fiction or sci-fi and fantasy. I even noticed a robotic lily type thing in a beaker on his desk. It looked a like a pretty cool flower if you ask me.

"It's something that I hope will bring me and my parents closer together."

"What do you mean?" I knew there was something wrong here with him.

He sighed and sucked in his gut. "Well I'm not too keen on plants."

"Yeah, I kinda got that already." I said while gesturing to my surrounding which was his room.

"Heh."

"Come on kid, I know your parents can't possibly hate you for not being all about plants. I mean you still love science."

"They don't hate me, they're kinda…"

I decided to sit on his bed because I had the gut feeling this may or may not take a while for him to spill.

"We're not really seeing eye to eye."

"Meaning?"

"It's like we can't connect as a family anymore. Once I wondered from the nest suddenly it's almost like we're strangers."

"And now you don't like spend time as a family."

"Family time was still work time for us. I would assist in the lab perhaps once a week or something like that."

"Why did you stray?"

"I got bored with plants and the experiments were never ending… I just need something new."

I nodded my head in understanding. "So, this is your idea as a first step?"

"Hm." He smiled for a second and then told me, "Actually this flower on my desk is the first step. My mom made it for me just to reconnect even for just a few seconds." I looked at the flower next to his laptop. "It's a flash drive."

"Okay, okay I see where you're going with this. I take it this game of yours has something to do with plants."

"You got me." We laughed.

He sat in his chair and rolled over to me with his laptop. "You see the aim really is to take care of a greenhouse. You learn about plants and conservation… effects pollution has on the environment."

Getting look at the virtual green house it looked more like a regular jungle in there. There were even some freaky carnivorous plants that I've never heard of. There didn't seem to be any flooring just dirt. You get to choose to be one of four characters. Each one goes the exact same trials or whatever. It seemed to be built for a younger kind of audience.

"You think Amy might like it?" He asked me.

"Don't know… I'm not sure if she has an interest in plants."

"She comes back this week right?"

"Right?"

"Bring her along next time. I could use the opinion of someone younger." I nodded in agreement. "and hey the pool should be up and running by then."

"Your family is having pool built?"

"Renovated, actually. It's out back and my parents said it was okay to have friends over for some fun when it's done."

A thought came to me after noticing that I haven't seen his parents. "Hey, where are your folks anyway?"

"In the basement working. They have their own private research projects here at home. My nanny should be back in a bit."

"A nanny?" Just how rich was this kid. The kid is a genius why would he need a nanny? No one around here ever gets nannies… You know now that I think about it… the sort of third person I see that goes into some home might not be lovers after all. Maybe I was wrong about the Jeffersons, and the lot of them.

"Yeah, not everyone has an older sibling to rely on." He rolled back to his desk and set down his laptop. He turned back to face looking a little annoyed.

"Uh, did I like strike a nerve or something?"

"No, I just sometimes wonder what it would be like to actually have and older brother."

"It has its perks and pains like anything else. Can't be that much different from having a nanny."

"Funny, Dave never caused me any pain."

"Hold up." I brought up my hand to say stop. I looked at him long and hard. "Your nanny's a dude?"

"Yesss." He looked at me funny. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Oh no… I just never heard of a male nanny before."

"Tails!" I heard someone call out. "Hey did your friend come by yet?" I heard his voice grow louder along with his footsteps.

"He's here." Tails replied.

He knocked on his door.

"It's open." Tails told him.

And in stepped in… I would think a coyote but you know… I'm no expert so… yeah don't quote me on that. He was skinny… and his cargo pants just look like way too baggy. Guy had a lot of hair on his head. It was almost as if something furry climbed up there and called his head home. He had this kind of shiny grey coat and these neon blue eyes that seem unreal… Probably contacts.

"Sonic," He turned to me, "this is Dave. Dave, this Sonic."

"So you're Sonic." He came towards me and offered his hand. I shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." I said.

"Hey you boys want a snack?" He asked us.

Tails and I shared a look. "Mmm. No thanks Dave."

"Well, it's cooled down a bit outside. Why don't you boys go off and play in the front yard for a bit while I fix up some lunch?"

We looked at each other again. I shrugged and half nodded. "Yeah, sure." Tails said.

"I'll call when lunch is ready." He began to walk out of the room but stop shortly of the opening. He looked over his shoulder and told us, "and try not to break anything."

"Duh." Tails replied.

I suddenly had this déjà a vu moment that I didn't quite understand.

So Tails and I took a soccer ball, a football and a base ball with mitts. It dawned on me that this kid was a brainiac who didn't have much athletic ability. Why did he keep this stuff?

We started to pass the soccer ball. He really couldn't get to go straight.

"Try hitting it with the side of your foot." I advised. I passed it to him the way I advised.

He stopped it and passed it back. It still went a little off course but at least he didn't kick it straight in to the rose bushes.

"Tails, why do you have this stuff?"

"The sport stuff?" He asked as I kicked it towards him.

"Yeah."

"A genius needs something to keep the average minds of his cousins preoccupied." He passed it back and I held it under my foot. I eyed him. "And… even I need a mindless activity to do when I get bored."

"Ah," I nodded in my head in triumph.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask." He stopped to stop the ball from bouncing off a tree. "Where's Amy going to go to school?"

"Don't know. I haven't even bothered to ask her moms where she was going."

"So, what do you plan to do if she comes to our school?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I looked off into the sky thinking. "Maybe I won't have to do anything. She is two years below our grade and we get separate times for recess."

"Right, we don't normally have contact with kids who are younger than us."

I got a little uncomfortable at his words.

"Maybe you're right." He continued. "Maybe nothing will have to be done other than to get the rest of us nerds on board with having you around."

"Wait, what?"

"Come on Sonic. You said it yourself. You are my only real competition for graduating at the top of the class."

"So…"

"So that makes you a nerd. And believe me you'll fit right in. You'll just have to drop your act." Before I could say anything he came out with. "I think it would make Amy really happy if you make new friends along with her when school starts."

He had me. I sighed. "Yeah, heh, you're right."

"Enjoy this to the fullest while you can. From what I've been able to see your relationship with Amy may suffer a few setbacks once we do graduate."

"What makes you say that?" I looked at him a bit confused.

"Because we'll be busier and you'll meet some other girls."

"But Amy will always be right across the street from me."

"Funny, I'm pretty sure she'll want more than just study dates Sonic."

"Date? I never said I was dating her." I felt all of my body heat rush to my face.

"Funny, I was so sure that I wasn't hallucinating you holding her hand the night of the fair."

"Oh, you saw that?" I knew my face was red. I cursed myself for it.

"Mm-hm. And I'm pretty sure taking her to the carnival counts as a date."

"Except it wasn't an official date." I looked away noticing that the soccer ball was right next to me. I didn't notice that Tails passed it to me.

"Whatever. But I am not oblivious to the feelings you have for her." He chuckled a little. "And it surely is plain to see her feelings for you."

"I know, I know."

"I think it's smart that you're um, taking it slow with her. I mean she's ten and you're twelve. Plenty of time to grow up and enjoy life."

I smiled. "Thanks for understanding Tails."

"Well, well, well look what we have here."

Ah, man. "Blake." I said. The dog and two of his goons, a duck and squirrel, were on their bikes in the street.

"What are you doing here?" Tails asked. I could tell he was angry.

"Oh we were just out for a ride is all." He said like nothing was out of the ordinary here. He smiled so big even my cheeks started to hurt. "Weren't we boys?" He said through his teeth. They nodded.

"What do you want? I thought you'd never bully when school's out?" I asked him. He knew as well as I did that I could land him in the hospital and make it look like a bloody accident.

"Oh, come now Sonic. Can't we be civilized once in a while?"

Something was up. Normally he would have insulted me by now. "Stop ignoring the question." I demanded. My voice cracked again. Damn you puberty.

They laughed for some time. "Simple." He paused to wipe a tear from his eye. "To make sure you know your place. And he knows his place." He glared at Tails.

"Ssssince when are two nerds not allowed to just… hang?" He looked at me pretty pathetically while Blake went into another burst of laughter. His goons were quick to follow.

"Sonic, a nerd."

"It's official."

"Says who?"

"Says me. You know I'm at the top of the group in our class."

They laughed some more. I wasn't sure what was worse; the sound of their laughter or Tails' attempt to stick up for me. In a way, our classes, kind of branch out into premature cliques you could call them. No bullying on other than on me goes on in the school. The nerds were never noticed by anyone other than the faculty. Like me… only they actually have each other. If I stuck with them then perhaps the only thing to dread would be Blake preying on them all. Then again, the teachers would most likely believe them on account that they have no rap sheet.

"Oh, okay. How about-" He chuckled. "Why not just ask to get a beating?" He laughed some more. "You guys know what to do." His goons got off their bikes. They came towards us. I had two options: I could beat them up and take the consequences later or get Tails and me into the house as fast I could. I had to go with option B. I grabbed Tails' wrist and ran into the house in two seconds.

Tails breathed heavily for some seconds before saying, "A little warning next time please," between gasps.

"I had no time Tails."

"I could've gotten a heart attack."

"Sorry."

I heard Blake taunt us from outside. Dave came in and asked what happened. We explained and he got rid of them for us. He told me, "You did the right thing." I was relieved to hear someone say that. I lost a bit of my pride but I kept a friend.


	13. Chapter 13

Sonic's POV

I heard a knock at the door just when I was about to head out to get Amy so we could head on over to Tails' house. I opened the door… and before I could say hi, Amy pounced on me as if she was some kind of wild cat and I was her prey. She knocked the wind right out of me while she yelped out my name. She hugged me after we, or rather, I hit the ground.

"Oh, Sonic. I've missed you so much."

Before I could respond, yet again, she got me to sit upright and started to kiss me all over my face. I was in such a daze. I couldn't even hug her back when she finally stopped smothering me. Not that I would mind. I looked at her and could see her lips moving but I couldn't hear any words until I heard, "Come on Sonic. Tell me."

"Huh? Wha?" I shook my head back down to Mobius.

"Sonic." She whined. "Weren't you listening?"

"I uh." I was still out of it, my head rocked from side to side slowly. "Sorry. What did you say?"

Amy sighed. "Oh Sonic." She giggled and then hugged me again. "I missed you… a lot."

I smiled as that warm fuzzy feeling went through my whole body. Amy's loving hug got me out of my daze. I hugged her back. She nuzzled her head into my neck. "I missed you too."

She gave me one last squeeze and then got up. "So, where's Little Maggie?"

"Who?" I asked as I got up myself.

"Little Maggie." She paused while I looked at her completely confused. "My fish."

"Oh." I chuckled to myself. "She's up in my room." I gestured towards the stairs. "You wanna come see her?" She nodded. I smiled, took her hand, and led her to my room.

She said as I opened the door, "I've never been in your room before."

"It's nothing much really, but safe enough for anyone to be in."

"Even babies?" She looked at me curiously.

I cleared my throat. "Well I couldn't go as far as calling it baby proof." She nodded in understanding. Then she saw the tank on my side table.

"There you are." She said as she made her way to the tank and sat on my bed.

"Aww, I think they like each other."

I smiled to myself. I couldn't remember having the wonder that Amy had. For a moment, I felt as if perhaps I was too grown up for Amy. I shook the feeling and went ahead and sat with her watching the little creatures swim around. She relaxed her head on my shoulder after a while. My automatic response was to put my arm around her.

"Hey Sonic. Do you think that they ever get bored in there?"

I chuckled again. "Nope, they have a memory of about five minutes or something."

"Really? Is it because they have tiny brains?"

"That has something to do with it."

"I wonder what their brains look like."

"I can give you a one word description." She looked at me expecting me to keep my word. "Gross."

After awhile we made it to Tails' place.

"Hey, come on in guys." Tails greeted us. He stepped to the side to let us in.

"Hey where's Dave?" I asked him.

"In the back doing some last minute cleaning." He responded as he closed the door.

"Who's Dave?" Amy asked.

"My nanny slash our "lifeguard" for today." He kept his quoting hands at the level of his eyes. Amy giggled. "Come on, grab your stuff and follow me." We followed Tails through the first floor of his house and out the back to see Dave with a net in his hands fishing around for any impurities. "Hey, Dave they're here."

Dave turned around and smiled. He pulled out the net and set it down on the grass. He came towards us. "Hey Sonic and um…" He looked at Amy.

"Amy," She squeaked. "My name is Amy sir."

"Sir?" Dave laughed a little. "Sir is my boss, just call me Dave little chickadee."

She looked around and behind her. I cleared my throat to hide my laugh. "He's talking to you." I told her.

"Oh. Heh." She just smiled. I looked at Tails and noticed his hand was over his mouth trying to muffle a laugh.

"You're a cute one. You know that?" Dave said to her.

She shrugged in a humble manner. "I've been told."

"Hm. Well, if you need me I'll be lounging. Just call out if you need anything." He walked away to a chair with a book just waiting for him.

Amy made her way to the bathroom to change while Tails and I just jumped right in. We shivered a bit when we resurfaced.

"Hey Tails. Is there any way to change the temperature?"

"No."

"There went that idea."

"Give it a bit."

I put my face back into that water and swam under for a few seconds before I came back up. I wiped my eyes and looked towards the head of the pool. I stared at Amy much like an idiot. The girl was wearing a simple two piece but boy did my cheeks get hot at the sight of her. It was blue with a pattern of little pink flowers all over.

"Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Geh." I looked away. This was wrong. I'm twelve, she's ten. This was supposed to be an innocent romance. I couldn't look at her as if she had stuff to strut which she didn't… but not for long. Damn you puberty and hormones.

"Are you okay Sonic?" I heard Amy ask.

"Fine!" My voice cracked. I quickly faked a cough. "Fine Amy." I looked back at her. She was looking at my bag.

"Hey, what's this?" She pulled a toy out of my bag.

"That's a torpedo. My brother gave it to me."

"It's not the kind that explodes right?" She asked frantically.

"It's perfectly safe. Hey, grab our goggles will ya?"

"Why?" She looked at me funny.

"We might need them."

"Tails you have yours on right?" I looked behind me to get a thumbs-up from Tails. I saw the piece of plastic on his head. When I turned back around, Amy was halfway in.

She shivered. "It's cold." She had her goggles on the top of her head and had the torpedo in one hand while my goggles were in the other.

"Can you toss me my goggles?" I asked. She did and took a few more steps. I swam to her. I held out my hand to her, she took it and I pulled her in.

"Ah!" She shivered against me.

"It's okay Amy." I held her until she stopped shivering. "Better?"

"A little." She said so… innocently… and then she slapped me. It didn't hurt but I automatically placed my hand over the spot where she hit me.

"What was that for?"

"For scaring me."

There was some silence. "Uh, I thought we were supposed to be having fun guys?" Tails finally broke the silence. He swam towards us.

Amy looked at him. "Your right Tails. So how do we use this thing?" She held up the toy.

"Well, Tails can you swim to that side of the pool." I pointed at the middle of a longer side of the pool. "You stay here Amy." She nodded. I swam to the point across from Tails. "All you gotta do is drag it along just a bit under the water and let it go."

"Like this?" Amy asked as she tried to do what I said.

"Who did you pass it to Amy?" I asked her.

"I think to Tails."

"Tails can you see it?"

"Um… aha!" He slipped his goggles on and dove right in. He came up a few seconds later. "Got it."

After that it was a few hours of games going from splash wars to Marco Polo who actually explored by land and had nothing to do with water at all. We soaked Dave once or twice with our antics. He always responded with a laugh and then went up to his room to change.

Eventually, I felt something hit my head. "Ow."Amy caught what hit my head.

"Are you okay Sonic?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Yo Brainiac." I heard from behind us. I saw kids sticking their heads up from the top of the fence. I could see two girls and one dude. One girl looked like a bat with the whitest fur I had ever seen with big ears for a bat. The other girl was a rabbit with really big eyes that spelled out born sweetheart. The red kid looked like a distant cousin of mine. For a preteen he looked like he had a really hard looking face.

"Can we have our birdie back please?" the rabbit asked. Her voice was like bells. The three of us on our side of the fence looked at the birdie in Amy's hands and then back at them.

"Coming." Tails called out. He gestured us to follow him out of the pool.

"Do you know these guys Tails?" I asked we walked along the bottom of the pool.

"I know the bat Rouge. She's my next door neighbor but I've never seen the other two before."

"Rouge?" Amy questioned.

"Yup. Her parents own a few diamond mines."

"Mines?" Amy questioned again as we made our way to the fence.

"Diamonds come from the ground like gold does." I told her.

"Oh."

When we made it to the fence Tails said, "Afternoon Rouge. Who are these two?"

"I could ask you the same thing?" She smirked. Suddenly, I got the feeling that I wouldn't like her all too much. Just a feeling. I have nothing against bats.

"This is Sonic and Amy."

"Hello." Amy chirped. I didn't say anything. I just smiled.

"Hi there." The rabbit said. "I'm Cream and this is Knuckles. It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise." I said. Cream seemed to have the same sweet nature that Amy had.

"I believe this belongs to you." Amy said and tried to reach up to one of them so that they could have their birdie back. But… she came up a bit short. I got a hold of her waist and hoisted her up. "Oh." She looked down at me. "Thanks Sonic." I grinned. She turned back to them and handed the birdie to Rouge.

"Thanks." Rouge said.

"You're very welcome." Amy said when I put her back on the ground.

Then I heard the voice of a lady on their said of the fence. "Rouge, Knuckles, Cream! Lunch is ready."

They looked behind them meanwhile the three of us shared a look of curiosity.

"What are you guys doing?" asked the voice as someone came to the fence.

"Nothing Ruby." Knuckles said. The kid had a voice to match his face. It kind of scared me.

Ruby looked an awful lot like Knuckles but she was pretty. She didn't have any harshness in her face at all or her voice. She was a brighter red with glowing violet eyes.

"Oh, hello there." She said once she spotted us.

The three of us gave her our hellos.

"Hey… kids!" We heard from behind us. We looked back to see Dave looking out at the pool.

"It's okay Dave. We're right behind you." Tails called out to him. Dave turned around in haste and gave a sigh of relief to us. He jogged to us not taking his eyes off us. "What gives?" He asked. Then he spotted our friends on the other side of the fence.

"Oh, um hi." He looked at Ruby and I could see a bit of shock go through them.

Ruby said, "Hi." I saw this sort of spark in her face. There was silence. They stared at each other while we kids stood by wondering _Now what? _

Tails faked a cough, which seemed to get Dave to finally say something. "Uh, I'm Dave the Prower's nanny."

"I'm Ruby, but I'm just the baby sitter." They had a laugh. "W-would you all like to come over for lunch. I honestly think I went overboard with the mac & cheese and fruit salad."

"What do say Kids?" Dave actually looked at us when he asked what we thought.

"Uh." Tails started. He looked at Amy and me. I looked at Amy. She closed her eyes, smiled and nodded. I nodded towards Tails. "Sounds good."

"Great." Ruby responded. "We'll see you guys in a bit."

Next door, while our caretakers ate inside we were outside sitting on this small patio set built for kids our size. It was kind of nice. You felt like you were already an adult. The door was open so that Dave and Ruby could hear if there was any trouble. For the first few minutes we were quiet enough to hear the nanny and the baby sitter talking. They were definitely hitting it off.

Knuckles commented, "Who'd a thought? My sister and your nanny." He directed his attention to Tails.

"She's your sister?" I managed to choke out. I coughed a few times and Amy patted my back. I gave her a quick thanks.

"Yeah, is something wrong with that?" He looked at me as if he was getting ready to pummel me into nothingness.

"Hm." I kept my cool and tried to smooth things over. "No, I was actually rather curious about your likeness."

"And here I thought you actually made a friend who wasn't a nerd." We all looked at her. "Guess I was wrong." Right then I was sure that she and I would have a few problems.

"That wasn't a nice thing to say Rouge?" Cream told her.

"So what?"

"They're guests Rouge. Don't be rude."

"It's all right Cream." I told her. "I've been called worse."

"Like what?" Rouge suddenly looked interested in what I had to say. "Maybe I can top them." She smirked. The painful memories came rushing in. I didn't see Rouge in front of me anymore. I saw my dad with rope and a pair of handcuffs. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. Everywhere I looked… Dad, Dad… Dad! I fell back in my seat trying to get away. I was surrounded. I closed my eyes hoping for the worse to be over. Then, I heard Amy's voice. It was faint but I could hear it. Oh, sweet salvation.

"Sonic." My name echoed in my ears. Amy was calling me. "Sonic!" I felt tugging at my shirt. That's when I came too. I sat up in a hurry and I could feel that I was breathing fast. I looked around. All eyes were on me. Dave and Ruby stood in the doorway.

"Oh, Sonic." Amy held onto me. I hugged her back and stroked the back of her head.

"Hey bud are you okay?" Dave asked me in a worried tone.

"I'm fine. This happens sometimes."

"What?" Dave and Ruby exchanged a look. "Have you seen a doctor?" Ruby asked.

"No." I responded a bit confused. This had nothing to do with that kind of help. I actually started to see my shrink again just because of my little episodes. "I'm fine. It's nothing." They studied me, shared a look and shrugged.

Dave sighed and said, "Okay. If you say so Sonic."

Amy and I got up while those two went back inside. Everyone else was standing around Amy and me.

"Was it something I said?" Rouge asked to no one in particular.

"What do you think Rouge?"Knuckles targeted. He seemed angry with her.

"How was I supposed to know that he would black out or whatever?" She shot back at him.

"I'm right here you know. I can hear every word you're saying." I said.

"Then leave." Rouge stated. She and I glared at each other.

"Hang on." Tails came in between us. "No one has to leave." He looked at me and then at Rouge. "Wh-why don't we all finish eating and…" He started. I saw him out of the corner of my eye look around. "Aha." He hopped off the patio and picked something up. "Play doubles!" We looked at him as he turned back around holding a birdie in his hands.

"That's a great idea Tails!" Cream exclaimed.

"Oh heh." He grinned in a goofy way and if my eyes didn't deceive me I could swear I saw him blush.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay I may or may not give one last chapter on Monday.**

**But hey, I haven't posted a story that I didn't finish.**

* * *

><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Today was when I had to visit my therapist. I visit him every Friday at noon. Amy doesn't know about it. I'd rather not have her worry or lecturing me on how I can go to her for my problems when it's pretty obvious that I can't. Shadow took care of her while she was waiting for me. I don't like the sound of that but I had no choice.

I actually admitted to myself I needed some professional help. My little episodes were seriously starting to scare me. It's bad enough that I'm damaged for life but to almost relive the terror is… I don't know. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Since the first one when Amy and I first got together, I knew there was something wrong going on in my head even more so than I first thought. Ma, although a great mom, wouldn't have sent me to my first shrink in the first place, if she thought she could handle it. Shadow's too much of a goof off to go over this with and he's just as badly traumatized psychologically as me or even more so.

So there I was, back on the couch. I wasn't very cooperative with my first two shrinks. I didn't want to talk about it; I didn't want to remember it. I wanted a normal life. Going to someone paid to listen to me didn't seem to help my case from my point of view. My first visit was after Blake's first "attack." I didn't want anyone to know.

I thought it would go away. But no. I had nightmares and these episodes weren't helping.

I was looking at the ceiling. Dr. Eggman, I just call him Doc, was on his chair not too far away from me. He's not much to look at, but at least I was letting him do his job. He was recommended by a co-worker of Ma's.

"So anything new Sonic?" He asked me.

"Well, I met some new kids."

"Did you?"

I nodded.

"Mind telling me how?"

"I met them while Amy and I visited Tails. One of them hit a birdie hard enough that it hit my head."

"Do you have a bump on your noggin?" He asked noticing that I had been rubbing the spot where I got hit.

"No, amazingly."

"Hm. Tell me more about these kids you met." I did. "So you don't really think that you and this Rouge could be friends?"

"Nah. I mean… eh, I don't hate her. But then again…"

* * *

><p>So it was the end of our visit. Amy and I had our stuff packed and ready to head on home. But before we could step out Tails' front door we found Rouge sitting on his doorstep.<p>

"Rouge?" I questioned.

"Hm." She lifted herself up and turned around to face us.

"Oh hi." She looked kind of down. I didn't understand why she would be sad.

"What's wrong?" A part of me wondered why I would care and the other part me thought that would be mean. I haven't had the best life but Amy's showed me that a little kindness goes a long way.

"I… just wanted to say… God this is hard." Amy and I shared a look and then looked back at her. She was looking at the ground. "I wanted to say that I'm…" she still didn't look up at us.

"Yes…" I tried to encourage her. She murmured something. "Sorry what was that?" She tried again. "I still can't hear you." I was looking at her hoping she would get on with it.

"I-I'm sorry, okay!" She practically sounded mad at me.

"It's okay. It's okay." I said frantically in response. Amy hid behind me. "Wait. Why are you sorry?"

I didn't think Rouge would be one to apologize. "For how I acted today." She looked down at the ground looking… ashamed?

"Oh, well uh," I looked away trying to find the words, "… it's water under the bridge." That was the saying right?

She sighed in relief. "Thanks Sonic. I was wrong about you."

"What do you mean?" Amy beat me to it and came out from behind me.

"I mean. I've heard of you Sonic, the blue hedgehog with a look of mystery and dread. Even before I transferred in like three months ago."

"You've got to be kidding me. Does every kid in town know about me?" I hadn't realized I was so… infamous. Blake must've been spreading rumors. Funny how I didn't think of it in the first place. Oh well, not that it would make me feel any better.

"No, just everyone in Picnic Square." Of course it's the place where I lived. Picnic Square is the part of the suburb we all lived in. "I just didn't want anything to happen to me... Knuckles, Cream, or… Tails again."

"Wait a minute. Did Tails tell you?"

"No, he just… said yes to it. I thought it was him because I heard a two tailed fox was hurt."

* * *

><p>"Then she invited us to come by her place again the next day."<p>

"How did all that make you feel?" Doc asked.

"Normal." I smiled to myself.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. It was a blast. Playing outside in a back yard is… more fun in a group."

"So how do you feel about Rouge now?"

"She's not bad. I guess now I could call her my friend."

I looked over to him. "Good for you Sonic." I saw him write some things on his pad. "Anything else? How's Amy?"

"Fine. I have no problems with Amy. It's been the same thing every day. She calls. Comes over. We hang. Sometimes Shadow will spend some time with us. Then I walk her home."

I took a glance at him wondering what else he would ask me.

"Have you had any more of your episodes this week?"

"Actually." I sat up and faced him dangling my legs over the edge of the couch. "Two instances this week Doc." I told him about the one with Rouge.

"Interesting, and the other."

"The other really, really scares me."

* * *

><p>Okay so, Thursday afternoon Amy and I were at the pond catching minnows. Knee deep in water I waited for one to swim up into the jar.<p>

"Haha! Caught one." I lifted the jar out of the water and looked at it. The jar made it seem much bigger than it really was. "Hey Amy. How are you doing on your end?"

When I turned around, I didn't see Amy trying to catch minnows. It looked like, from where I was standing, she… was being used…

I dropped my jar. I was horrified. I couldn't move. I had a hard time breathing. My dad looked at me, he laughed at me and I heard him tell me, "You're next!"

"No!" I screamed. You might have thought I would run out of there. I didn't. I didn't care what would happen to me, but DAMN IT I wasn't going to let Amy take that. The bastard. I ran towards him trying to knock him down. I didn't hit anything. I just landed in the pond on all fours all wet. I got on my knees and wiped my eyes. I looked over at Amy. She looked worried but scared.

"I-I'm okay Amy." I got up shivering and sat down on the bank. Amy followed with her fist clenched to her heart and sat down next to me.

"Was it another one of your day-mares?"

"Yeah. And this scared the crap out of me."

* * *

><p>"Interesting you actually moved this time."<p>

"Sure Doc. I wasn't going to let my old man take advantage of Amy like I was."

"And so we come right back to your father."

"Of course we do. We always do. He's the fucking reason I'm messed up like this. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. I would have friends in school when I started. Blake wouldn't be out to get me. I would have a father to talk to about Amy. My bother wouldn't be bringing every chick on campus home." I breathed in heavily. Wow.

"Go on."

"Oh, come on! You knew before I came to you what my problem was. My dad used me as a sex toy be it only him or," I shivered at the memories, "with friends. It pisses me off. This whole thing is fucking insanity."

"Good. Good."

"There's nothing good about this Doc!" I yelled at him.

He blinked a few times at me.

"I-I'm sorry Doc I just…"

"It's okay Sonic. You have a right to be angry."

"But not to take it out on you."

"That's okay Sonic."

I smiled.

"But really this is good. You're letting out the anger. It's okay to be angry. What your father did was wrong."

"No duh." I mumbled. "But the worst part is that I'm crazy. I see him when he's not really there. Then it feels so real. I'm being haunted by my dad."

"You're not crazy. Your fears are just manifesting before your eyes sometimes."

"So what?" I could figure this one on my own. "So I'm afraid my dad'll come back and abuse Amy."

"That's not what I meant."

I looked at him funny. "Then what do you mean?"

"I recall that you told me that you're afraid of becoming your brother."

"Yeah?" I looked at him questionably. "So I don't want to become a player. That's not really how I want to be remembered. I'd take outcast any day."

"Well, this may be a little soon for me to tell, but I think you're not just afraid of being a player but also I think you're afraid of abusing Amy the same way you were."

I squinted my eyes at him in disbelief. "Wh-What? I-I couldn't, wouldn't."

He raised his hand up at me telling me to stop. "I know Sonic. It's just a thought but a thought to keep in mind."

I opened my mouth as if I was going to say something, but I didn't know how to respond to that.

"Now then, why don't we end on a lighter note? Any plans this weekend?"

"Actually, I'm going to hang out with Tails' and his crew."

"Can you elaborate?"

"We're going to have to go back to my Blake issue and what happened to Tails." I paused to look at him. He motioned for me to go on. "Recall that Tails told Blake that I was a nerd and part of that group. I guess this the day that I am formally introduced to them. The goal is to have them warm up to me by the end of the summer."

"How do you and Tails plan on getting around Blake?"

"The kid isn't stupid. When someone starts messing with the nerds something's up. They're practically invisible at school."

"Mm-hm." I saw him taking some notes. "Please continue."

"The dream is that he just might never talk to me again and that nightmare will be over." I fell back on the couch at the thought. Subtract the problem that divides your happiness so that your happiness multiplies.

"Be sure to tell me how it works out."

I sat up. "Of course Doc. Now it's time for me to ask you some things."

"All right then." I saw him put his pad down. "Go ahead. I'm an open book."

"Do you enjoy listening to peoples' pain?"

"No, but it is a part of the job."

"But you don't hate your job?"

"No, I don't."

"Then what keeps you coming back?"

It took him five seconds to find the words. "The knowledge that I'm helping people with their problems. Anything else?"

"Yeah, why did you choose to take my case?" I had been through two before I came to Doc.

"Two reasons. The first, I like a challenge. From what I heard you would be a very hard nut to crack open." I knew he meant that he would have a hard time getting me to talk.

I chuckled a bit. "Sorry to disappoint."

He smiled. "Don't be. You knew and accepted that you needed some help. What you're going through is pretty tough."

"Thanks Doc."

"No problem."

"So what's the other reason?"

"My mother was raped at a young age. Your case kind of hit home for me Sonic."

I looked at him shock, concerned and sad. "Did she turn out okay? Mentally I mean."

"Sure, after she got some help."

"Is that why you choose to be a child psychologist?"

"Yup."

"Wow. That's… deep Doc."


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, it's been a bit nutty up here. I found some time and got to work on this chapter.**

**I must give warnings of OCs. Bare with me here. I don't think I'll use them often but because friends in school is pretty big for Sonic I can't make any promises. And the actual Sonic characters are just used as a bit of transition.**

**Lastly, I have to admit I'm pretty proud of this one so far. This summer project turned out pretty good.**

**Thank you all for sticking with this one.**

**Any who, enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

So I made it to Tails' place to finally formally meet the "nerds" of my grade. Tails came to the door.

"Hey Sonic."

"Hey Tails. Is everyone here already?" I asked as I stepped in.

"Yeah." He closed the door behind me. "But, uh they don't know that you're the guest of honor."

I snapped, "So as soon as I walk into the room, they're gonna run for the hills." I was actually trying to get myself to laugh because I was about to step into really uncomfortable situation. I didn't. But I did get a chuckle from Tails. _It'll have to do._

"I don't know about that, but it won't be easy to… to get them used to having you around."

"I figured as much." I looked at the ground.

"It's a little bit more complicated than you think."

"What do you mean?" I looked at him funny.

"We… tend to not to admit that we're wrong, especially because we're never wrong."

"Never?" I question him knowing he had to be wrong. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Well… okay fine we're never wrong scholastically and in our fields."

"What?" The kid totally lost me.

"Sonic." He paused and had this tone of disappointment. "Every nerd is just plain smart and good at school but also has a specialty or a time consuming hobby."

"Like you in computers and robotics." I said understanding.

He snapped his fingers in excitement and exclaimed, "Exactly."

"Then we have a problem." He looked at me waiting for me to continue. "I don't have a specialty."

"But you're halfway there." He pointed out.

Knowing he was right, I sighed. "All right. Let's get this over with."

We walked into the living room. Right away I saw the diversity in this one group of nerds. I saw a raccoon, a beagle, and some type of macaw. Again, I'm no expert on exact species. They were all on one of the couches. I noticed a book in the raccoon's hands. The beagle wore a big tan hat on his head. The macaw had red, green, and blue feathers.

"Hey guys, look who's here." They all turned their heads and looked at me. In a flash, they dodged behind the couch on the other side of the room.

I looked at Tails with an I-told-you-so face. He pulled on a cheeky grin as if he was trying to cheer me up.

"Well… they didn't head for the hills."

"They might as well have."

He rolled his eyes, shook his head and walked towards his friends. "Guys, come on, he's not going to hurt us."

"Did _he _say that?" I heard from behind the couch. It sounded scratchy but also a bit melodic.

"No _I'm _saying that Melody."

"You're nuts." Someone else said.

"Really guys, give the kid a chance. You'll see that he's just like us."

"Repeating what Rocky said, you are off your rocker good sir." There was a bit of an accent to this one. It sounded like something from a really old English play or something. It was a nice kind of sound too.

"Okay. Let me ask you three something." I finally said. I never really liked letting others fight my battles for me… or with me for that matter. "I want you all to look at me." I said sternly.

It took a while but eventually they reluctantly poked their heads out from behind the couch. They were scared but curious. Nerds will be nerds. It was like that scene from Snow White. I chuckled a bit inside my head. I actually just saw it last night with Amy.

"Are you afraid of me or of Blake?"

They looked away immediately. It looked like they were analyzing different objects in the house, but I knew they weren't. They were questioning themselves, arguing with themselves. They, after a while, had these frightened looks on their faces.

"Well?" I urged knowing they knew what I knew the whole time.

They still didn't look at me though. I was about to give up when I heard, "Sorry." The word came from the bird. She stood up with a sorry look on her face. "I-"

"It's all right." I cut her off because there was no use hearing what I already knew. She smiled weakly and I smiled back knowing that I reached out to Melody. I looked at the two cowering next to her. Those two shared a look. They sighed, got up, nodded towards Melody, and all three of them walked towards Tails and me.

There was an awkward silence.

"You…" We turned to the beagle I assumed was Rocky. "You brought up a good point." I smiled a little.

"I can only agree with Rocky." I heard from the raccoon.

"I'm really proud of you guys." Tails told them.

"Although I must add that this may pose as a challenge."The raccoon pointed out. The other two nodded in agreement.

"I know it looks bad but for now, if you would please, just ignore it." Tails told him.

"You want us to ignore what happened to you?!" He shot back.

"That," he then looked behind himself.

_His Tails. _I thought. I remembered. What a huge mess that was.

"That was when there was only one of me." They all looked at him funny and then looked at me wondering what to do.

"Think about it." I told them. "Picking us off one by one won't work for him, or work at all. You're inseparable in school. Something's up when all a sudden you're targeted."

"That thing would be you."

"True but…" Great. I wasn't really prepared for a debate. I sighed. "Look, I'm not too sure how it will play out. All I'm asking is that you give it a chance."

"And if we get hurt in the process?"

"I-I don't know. Maybe your credibility will out rule Blake." I actually sounded sad… in public. Therapy was either doing wonders or I was being really stupid and sappy. I looked at the floor not knowing what to do. I wished that Amy was there to hold me. I wanted to hear her sweet voice again.

"Okay."

"Amy?"My voice choked and came out scratchy. I looked up.

I took a look around. No Amy and everyone looked at me as if I were an alien.

"Who?" Rocky asked.

"Eh, nothing, sorry." I faked a cough.

"Okay…" Melody came out with. "Look, we'll see how um, this will play out." She sounded like she was asking a question though.

"We will?" The other two looked at her confused.

"If Tails is willing to take the chance, then so am I." Melody explained.

The two boys looked at each other, shrugged, and decided to take the chance.

"Thanks." I told them.

"Yeah, well, all we can do now is hope this won't take us all down." Rocky said.

"How about we all get on with some trivia?" Tails asked to try to change the mood and direction of things.

So we all sat down around a small table.

"So, what _is_ your specialty Sonic?" Melody asked.

I shrugged. "I don't even know."

The rest of the time, I was brought into their worlds. Melody loves music and musicals. A part of me wondered if she could do more than playing the piano. Rocky knew more about ancient civilizations than I ever thought possible for a middle school-er. It almost scared me that if he had the resources he could accurately recreate cites and play out any role in any society. The raccoon, William, understood all kinds of novels and poetry like it was second nature to him.

I took a look at them. I saw music, technology, literature, and ancient history. My real question was: _Who am I?_


	16. Chapter 16

**Yay, a sonamy chapter. And if you have noticed I decided to shake it up a bit. Enjoy.**

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><p>Amy's POV<p>

"So are you sure you've got everything?" Mama asked. She was in the door way to my room while I was finishing up my packing. I had just stuffed my favorite bear - the one my grandpa bought me before he went off on some expedition. You can't keep a good archeologist from the field.

"Yes, mama." I was talking to my mom who looked liked me. I call my other mom Mommy. This way, they know who I'm asking for or talking to.

"Sleeping bag?"

"Check." I zipped my bag up.

"Pillow?"

"I think Cream has plenty of those, but check." I got up and looked at her waiting for anything else.

"Toothbrush?"

"Check." I said already tired of the list.

"Emergency numbers?" She quickly asked with a mush face.

"Check." Like I would forget those. "I'm not a little girl anymore Mama I can be responsible for my own stuff." Besides, if I could help Sonic out of his glum state I'm sure I can handle helping myself out. But I suppose they don't know that.

"Good girl." She smiled. I liked it when my moms smiled because of what I did. They've been smiling a whole awful lot lately. This move was probably the best thing ever. I've got friends, adults I can trust, and Sonic. Hmm… life seems good.

"Ooh." She came to me and gave me tight hug. I hugged her back. A mom's love is probably the best there is. "I can't believe how big you've gotten." She let go of me and looked at me almost stern. "But remember, no matter how big you'll get you'll always be our little girl."

"I know Mama." Well, I'll always seem little to them because they'll always be much older than me. That and something to do with the whole family bond.

Then I heard the door bell ring. "Oh boy, that's gotta be Sonic." I ran past my mom and to the door. I take a pause to straighten my quills and to make sure I didn't look messy. I brought up a big smile just for him when I opened the door.

"Hey Amy." I heard him say.

"Hey Sonic."

"Sorry I couldn't make this afternoon. The dentist did a real number on me this time." I saw him hold his jaw while he spoke.

Weird. Lately he's had to go or do something on Fridays. As much I suppose it's normal to go out on Fridays, I don't think it's limited to appointments or suddenly helping your mom out work. It's sweet, but it comes out of nowhere. Oh, well, as long as he comes right back to me I really don't care.

"Any cavities?"

"Not this time."

"You've had one?" I was surprised.

"No, but I've always cut it a bit close every time I go visit."

"Hello Sonic." I looked up to find Mama smiling at Sonic. She and Mommy know everything and they think it's just cute. Maybe they don't think I'm serious but I guess since they like Sonic regardless it's okay.

"Hello Mrs. Rose. How are you?"

"Pretty good. Thank you. And you?"

"A bit in pain from the dentist, but I'll be all right."

"You poor dear." She looked at him with her motherly eyes. Makes me wonder if she'll always look at me like that if she looks at Sonic like that. "Well, it's nice of you to volunteer to take Amy to Vanilla's home."

"It's no trouble at all. Heh, it's the least I can do for missing out on this afternoon." He seemed a little embarrassed. He had this kind of hopeless grin on his face. He looked so cute I just wanted to squeeze him and never let go.

"Then you two should be off, it'll be dark soon." Then she kneeled and told me, "Amy, I'll be by to pick you up tomorrow."

"All right Mama."

She gave me a hug. I went ahead and joined Sonic on the porch. He gestured his head towards the side walk.

"Bye Mrs. Rose."

"Bye Mama." We said before taking another step.

"Have a nice time." She called out. Sonic and I waved as we walked off for a while. She watched us until we were out of sight… or that's what she would do.

"I thought your mom worked in the evening."

"She does. Mommy is sick in bed."

"We're talking about your mom who's a cat right?" His face was scrunched up.

"Yeah."

"Just making sure. But that stinks. What are the odds of getting sick in the middle of summer?"

"No clue, but I did have something to do while you were gone."

"And what was that?" He cocked one of his eyebrows.

"Helping out Mama."

"So, if I had been around you would have been with me all afternoon?" He had a bit of a smirk on his face. I paid it no mind.

I put my fingers around my chin and thought about it. "I would think so. Mama would want me way from all the germs. And I have nowhere to go but you." I looked at him with what he called my natural innocent face. I don't call it a face it's just how I look.

"So, what do you do at slumber parties anyway?" He asked me.

"I don't know." _I don't know. _It kind of amazed to think that Sonic would think that I know. I looked at him hoping he would just remember. My life hasn't been as rough as his, but still I was a bit of an outcast. I had my share of bullies.

"Oh, right, sorry Amy." He had his scrunched up face but it looked sadder this time.

I smiled. I was glad he could remember without me having to point it out. The more I talk about it the more I feel bad for myself. Remembering it all makes me wonder how the world could be a better or even a worse place. Others can be less lucky than me or Sonic and others are sure luckier than we are. I might make it seem like the world is such a great place, but really, I know that it can be good or bad.

I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He smiled back at me.

I decided to ask him something. "How's your mom? I haven't seen her lately."

"Busy. She's taking on extra shifts because one of the doctors in her department is on maternity leave."

"You mean she's having a baby?" I asked. I heard of it when my aunt got pregnant.

"Yep."

"Oh, hey, my mom is planning a trip to the zoo. Think you'll be free on Sunday?"

"I… should be, but I think I'd better get back to you on that."

"A maybe then."

"Are you gonna invite anyone else?"

"The girls and I was hoping you could invite the boys for me. Aren't you going to meet up with them tomorrow?"

"I am and I will. You sure your mom won't mind?"

"She did say a few people. I think she can handle six." I paused thinking about it. "And if anything I'm sure Dave would be happy to help out"

"Heh, you know Dave slipped from my mind."

"What are you guys going to do anyway?"

"Find my specialty."

"Do you think I can come with you tomorrow?"

"I'd like for you to come with me Amy, but it's sort of a guys only thing." He looked away and had this face like he wasn't trying to hurt me but wanted to be clear. He was clear all right, but I wasn't going to give up.

"Please." I batted my eyes like Rouge taught me to. If he was going on a life changing adventure shouldn't I be there with him. I'm the one who started it all. He probably wouldn't have come this far right now without me. I'm his girl… at least that's what Rouge said. I still have my doubts. I mean, I've kissed him but he hasn't really kissed me back.

"I promised the guys no girls. And maybe you'd better help out at home."

"Please." I tried again. He still didn't look at me. He kept quiet for a little while. If he kept this up then I might not ever break him. "Sonic?"

"Yeah Amy?"

"Why won't the boys want me to come?" I sounded as much as I baby as I could… which really was no challenge. It's just my voice.

"Because…uh, because sometimes boys need time away from girls."

That really didn't cut the cake for me. Why would Sonic want a break from me? Was I boring or something? It kind of made me mad and sad at the same time.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him with a pout and took my hand back. I stopped moving letting Sonic take another step.

He looked at me shocked by my little outburst when he turned to face me. "Well Amy-"

"Am I boring to you?" I asked as I folded my arms.

"It's nothing like that Amy." Or is it?

"Then what is it exactly?" I asked like Mommy did when she suspected that my little cousin snuck candy before lunch one time.

"Think about it Amy. Girls dress up, boys play rough. You can't possibly only want to see just me for the rest of your life."

I thought about it. I doubt I would get Sonic in a dress or let me play with his quills. I'm too much of a girly girl to handle anything boys would find fun and I'm not too fond of going to the doctor's every time I feel lucky. Then I thought of the slumber party. It was an all girls slumber party. No boys allowed. Why? Because boys don't understand anything we'd do or say. And as much as I love seeing Sonic I would like to see Cream and Rouge too. They're my friends. Girls I can hang out with. Girls that I'll soon be able to go to the mall with and talk boys with.

Sonic was right. "Amy? Please don't be mad."

"I'm fine Sonic." Thinking about what I thought I said, "I guess I was like in a crisis thinking you'll leave me or something." I looked at the ground feeling ashamed and silly.

"How could I leave you?" He took my hands in his. I lifted my head in shock and saw him smiling handsomely at me. The sunset colors were behind him and my heart pounded really fast and hard. Seeing him like that was the best thing I had ever seen. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

I felt my cheeks grow red and I cried out a little tear. He let go of one of my hands and wiped the tear away. He brought me into a hug then. I hugged him back and nuzzled into his neck. He still liked me.

"Better?"

"Mm-hm."

"Then we'd better get going." He let go of me but held onto my hands. "We wouldn't want Cream to think you weren't coming now would we?" He grinned.

I giggled.

"Come on." He let go of one of my hands and lead me to Cream's house.

I asked, "Will you at least tell me if you find your specialty?" as soon as I was out of a daze.

"Of course. It's not like it'll be a big secret or anything. It's just, part of being a nerd."

"How's fitting in coming along?" I hadn't asked since the first time he and the other nerds came together.

"It looks like they like me just fine, but we'll see how it holds when school starts."

That's what scared me: Sonic pretty much starting from point one but with a girl by his side. He has been through so much and there are still some things he hasn't told me. His dad was never a father, Blake has always given him a hard time, and to top it off no one believes him except us and the kids who I'm sure saw everything but just won't say anything. I look at my life, it's not as bad. I was luckier than Sonic. This is his one chance.

"I hope everything works out."

He sighed. "You and me both Ames."

I'm actually taking a liking to that name.


	17. Chapter 17

**Yikes! It really has been a while huh? Sorry about that. **

**But, I never start a work that I post without finishing it. So here's the next chapter. Please enjoy. And of course, thank you for the reviews. they add to my will to write.**

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><p>Amy's POV<p>

Eventually, we made it to Cream's house. Sonic knocked on the door. I really liked the flowers outside and I smelled tons of sweets and baked goods. Seemed like Ms. Vanilla and Cream were busy all afternoon.

Ms. Vanilla opened the door with a smile. "Why, hello there Amy. And who is this?" She looked at Sonic with curiosity.

"I'm Sonic Ma'am. I'm a friend."

"Oh, is that right?" Then it looked like she was looking at our hands. I didn't mind it.

Sonic nodded.

"Well then, best you come in Amy. The girls are in Cream's room. Up the stairs and the first door on your right."

"Okay." I said. I turned to Sonic. "I'll see you later then Sonic." I squeezed his hand.

"Yeah, see ya Ames." We hugged before I went inside and made my way to Cream's room. I heard him say goodbye to Ms. Vanilla and then she shut the door. I knocked on Cream's door.

"What's the password?" I heard Rouge's voice coming from the other side of the door.

"You… didn't give me one." I said confused. Was this a joke? Is this part of the sleepover?

The door opened, I heard Rouge say, "That's it." And then I felt her and Cream grab me by my arms and pull me into the room. Then I heard the door close. I coughed a little bit. They really knocked the wind right out of me. I was sitting down and they were kneeling in front of me.

"Give a girl a warning next time please." And to think I thought just boys played rough.

"Welcome Amy." Cream greeted me. That's when I noticed that there was another girl here.

"Oh, hello there." She was this colorful bird. She was sitting on the floor with a weird book in her hands. I could see the page she was on, but it was upside down. There were words with a lot of lines and squiggles and dots. There were even sections with smaller words. I didn't understand what it all was.

"Hi." She waved and nervously smiled.

"Amy, this is Melody. Melody, this is Amy." Oh, Sonic mentioned her on the way over. He said she was the only girl in the group.

"You're Amy?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Finally." She looked up as if thanking the universe or something. "Sonic mentions you so much. I've been wanting to meet the girl behind the almost nerd."

"Sonic talks about me?" He didn't tell me that. It's… kind of sweet.

"Yup, he told us you'd be one of the nicest people anyone could meet."

"Awe." I smiled, happy that Sonic said such nice things.

"Yeah, yeah we all know Sonic's kind of sweet on Amy, but Cream, you still haven't told me how it is that you invited her."

"Rouge!" Cream and I scorned her.

"Easy, it was just a question."

Cream and I shared a look.

"It's okay." Melody said. "No harm done, really." I looked at her and saw right through her false modesty. Cream and I sighed.

"Well, if you really want to know-"

"Oh yes, I do."

"Tails asked me to invite her. He told me she could use some girl time and friends that are girls."

"So Tails asked you to invite her, huh?" Rouge had a sly grin on her face and nudged Cream's arm.

"Yes Rouge, is that weird?" Cream either really doesn't know what Rouge meant or was playing dumb.

"Uh no…" Rouge said a little off. "Look can we just watch the movie?" We all nodded in agreement.

"I'll go get the popcorn and juice." Cream volunteered. "Amy, mind helping me please?"

"Sure Cream." I followed her out and we went downstairs and into the kitchen. That smell of sweets came back and this time, I saw the brownies and cookies. Ms. Vanilla closed the oven before looking up at us.

"Hey girls, the pizza will be ready in a bit."

"Awesome." I said.

"It's homemade too." Cream told me while she pulled out a packet of popcorn.

"Really?" I asked. Mama never made pizza. But I did sure have a lot of interesting meals and leftovers from the restaurant.

"Oh yes Dear." Ms. Vanilla said.

When we got back to Cream's room, the movie was just starting and Rouge and Melody were sitting down. Cream and I set the stuff down and then… we were attacked… by pillows. Cream and I shrieked and took a step back with our arms in front of our heads. I peeked towards Cream's bed and noticed the untouched pillows. I pulled Cream away and onto her bed. We grabbed the pillows and fired back with our own giggles and laughs. There was jumping and running and falling down. It was war!... well kind of. It's called a pillow fight for a reason right? It went on for a while until we all just collapsed out of exhaustion. My side was hurting me too. We settled down and just watched the movie.

In the middle of the movie, Cream's mom called us down to eat. That's when I invited the girls to the zoo. Ms. Vanilla said both she and Cream would come and that she'd give my mom a call. Melody and Rouge said they'd ask their parents. We brought back with us the cookies and brownies. Once the movie seemed to be ending, Rouge started to play with my quills. I let her, thinking it might keep her from starting something else surprising. I still don't know how she did it, but she got my quills into a bun that actually didn't look awkward. She pulled a hand mirror in front of me.

"Am I good or what?" She asked even though she already knew the answer.

We had to nod in agreement. The evidence was staring at us in the face.

"Do you think you could do something with my feathers?" Melody asked Rouge.

Rouge looked at her. "Hmm… maybe if you just pull them down…" I got up letting her sit in front of Rouge.

I sat with Cream in front of them to see Rouge work her magic. Rouge pulled off her hair ties. I did have to admit… the high pigtails… well… they just didn't quite work for her. Who would've thought that just pulling her feathers down could make her look so pretty. Her feathers weren't so long and kind of bended outward towards the ends. On her forehead, her feathers looked like they made a triangle.

"Well?" melody asked nervously once she felt that Rouge was done.

Cream grabbed the hand mirror and held it out to Melody.

"Oh." She stared at the mirror. "Heh, wow." She seemed to move her head to look at different angles.

"Do you like it?" Rouge asked her.

"I love it." She smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but I can't take all the credit. I just fixed your feathers; everything else was just there the whole time."

Melody looked from her to the mirror and then back at Rouge."Ya really think so?"

The three of us agreed.

She smiled and looked at us. "Thanks you guys, thanks a lot." We smiled back at her knowing we've all made a new friend. There was a bit of pause kind of acknowledging it.

"So Melody," Rouge came from behind her and sat next to her and Cream. We were kind of in a weird circle. "There, wouldn't happen to be a boy you like?"

We all kind of looked at Rouge funny, wondering why she would ask that. Or at least I was.

"Um… well, no. I wouldn't say that I do."

"Really?" Rouge looked surprised.

She shrugged, "I don't have much of an interest in boys."

"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you never had a crush before." Rouge still wouldn't take it in.

Melody then kind of faked thinking about it and then just shook her head no.

"Not everyone can be like Amy and Sonic you know Rouge." Cream told her. I felt myself blush at the mention of our names. Rouge always like to poke fun at us. Cream just felt happy about it.

"Wait a minute." Melody said and kind of looked at me funny. "You and Sonic…"

I kind of scrunched up my body. As much as I feel so… lucky to have Sonic, I don't like flaunting it. "It's… kind of complicated but… yeah."

"Which reminds me. Do you have anything to report Amy?" Rouge asked.

"Report?" Melody asked.

"You kind of have to just go with it Melody." Cream explained to her.

"Oh, okay then." She said still a bit unsure of what to make of… Rouge's choice of words.

"Well, come on Amy. Talk." Rouge urged.

I shrugged, not knowing what it is that Rouge wants to hear. "Nothing new really. I go over, we take a walk in the woods, hang with his mom or come by to Tails' place." I shook my head. "Nope, still the same."

"He still hasn't kissed you back?" Rouge asked, shocked and a bit angry. I didn't see why she would be angry. I know Sonic likes me and he knows that I like him. We spend time with each other and our friends and family. Seems perfect to me.

I shook my head. "Nope, not yet."

"That jerk."

"What?" The rest of said, shocked at Rouge.

"Oh come on, Amy. You kissed him weeks ago and he still hasn't kissed you back."

I was still confused. "So…?"

"Sounds to me like Sonic is getting cold feet." We gasped at what Rouge said.

"Don't say that Rouge." Cream pleaded.

"I couldn't sugar coat it Cream. I call 'em like I see 'em."

"But you could be wrong." Melody told Rouge.

"That's impossible."

"Well I know you're wrong Rouge. If Sonic didn't like me anymore then why did he hold my hand the whole way over here?" I challenged.

"She's got a point there Rouge." Melody said.

Cream added, "He could be just shy you know."

"No way Sonic's just shy." Rouge argued. "Amy's already given him an invitation. There's no need for him to be shy."

"Boys are weird Rouge, you know that." I said. Sonic was even off for a normal boy. It's not his fault though. I know that. I won't pressure him. Even I still keep in mind that he's twelve and I'm ten.

"I've got a thing or two to say to Sonic the next time I see him."

"Please don't say anything to him Rouge. If you say something then it might ruin everything." I pleaded.

Rouge kind of huffed. "Fine."

I sighed with relief.


	18. Chapter 18

**So, nearing summer... I'm sorry for the wait. Be rest assured that I'm back in the game and I'll deliver to the best of my ability. I never start a piece that I don't finish. **

**So, on with the story.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

So, it's time for my weekly session with Doc. I was on my back and he was sitting in his chair. He had his pad and pencil in his hands with a glass of water in front of him on a low table.

"How was your week Sonic?"

"It was a pretty good one."

"Go on."

"Well, Amy went to her first sleepover and so did I."

"Excuse me?"

I looked at him funny and he had this worried look on his face. I was thinking _What did I just say? _"Oh no no no no no Doc." I waved my arms. "I mean she had one with the girls and I had one with the guys." He wasn't so tensed anymore. "We went on separate days and in different houses." I went slowly and almost sounded sarcastic… just out of habit whenever someone thought you know those thoughts about me. I don't have anything against Doc. I wouldn't be here if I did. He actually treats me more like a son rather than a patient.

"I'm sorry Sonic, but thank you for clearing that up for me." He pushed his glasses on his nose. He looked embarrassed and sorry.

"It's all right, Doc. With me, you kind of can't help but expect the worst."

"How does that make you feel Sonic?" He looked at me. And I saw this sorry but curious look in his eyes.

I sighed and stared at the ceiling."Like I'm some kind of criminal."

"Pardon me for making you feel that way." I heard him clear his throat after he said that.

"Like I said Doc, it's okay. I'm used to it. "

"Did Amy enjoy her sleepover?"

I smiled. I started to remember her waving to me from her porch last Saturday. It was late and she and her moms were about to turn in for the night.

"Yeah she did. It was a like a mini adventure for her."

"Glad to see she's getting along quite nicely."

"So am I. I like her, but I'm not a replacement for girlfriends for her to hang out with."

He laughed a bit. I smirked. "How did your sleepover go?"

It took me a while to think of a word. "Painful."

I looked at him knowing he'd have this weird look on his face. I smirked and laughed to myself.

"Please explain Sonic." He said when he recovered.

"The guys were trying to find my specialty."

"How'd it go?"

"Tails had a list…A really long list.

* * *

><p>We all met up in Tails' room. I noticed tails had something that was still printing out.<p>

"Whatcha' printing out Tails?"

"Possibilities." He said quickly.

"Say wha?" I wasn't the only one confused either. Knuckles, William, and Rocky looked at him funny too.

"It's a list I thought up of to find your specialty Sonic."

"Oh." We all had this aha moment.

"It looks like it's done too."

When he showed it to us there was the smallest print I've ever seen and there were three columns. It was six pages front and back. "Wow Tails, how long did you work on this?" I asked a bit… worried…? Maybe… I don't know.

"Half an hour." He looked at me and shrugged. "Or maybe forty five minutes."

* * *

><p>"I still couldn't believe it. And I still don't understand how it is that I'm his only real competition at valedictorian."<p>

"Geniuses as we have come to known them are often bored very easily at school. They focus so much in what interests them, everything else is second rate."

"So what you're telling me is… I'm not as brilliant as Tails, but I work harder at school."

"Yes, a common case actually."

"Oh."

"But continue. What happened next?"

"Try a million activities."

First thing: science.

* * *

><p>"My parents are out on a trip to work in another lab. So the lab is free to use."<p>

"Let us find out how well you work with the scientific method." William told me.

* * *

><p>"So we went down, I tried a few experiments."<p>

"And what?"

"And nothing. I did it fine. I just found it boring. You come up with an idea, some way of testing it and then you do that few times. Then you make a conclusion. That's it."

"I see. How many sciences did you look into?"

"Tons. I like science, I just don't think it's me."

"Did you try anything else?"

"We bounced around in the list just so we wouldn't get bored."

He took a sip of his water.

"Still nothing that gives me that drive that the others have."

"How much did you guys explore?"

"Not even half. Tails just kept coming up with more stuff while I was still trying some stuff out in the lab in other topics."

"Maybe you could try my job?" He smiled and we both laughed a bit.

"Nice one Doc but I still have my own demons to take care of before I can like even consider it. But thanks for the suggestion."

"You're welcome Sonic." He smiled and chuckled. He looked at me like a grandpa with his grin and glasses. I wondered why he always wore a suit for a bit.

"Did you relax the next day Sonic?"

"Eh… not exactly, we all went to the zoo."

"We?" He asked me.

"Yeah, me, Amy Tails, Melody, Knuckles… and everyone I've met this summer. Mrs. Rose, the nannies, they chaperoned."

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was nice to see everyone together and just… I don't know, get along." I looked over at Doc. He smiled and nodded, telling me to continue. "People looked at us funny though."

"How did that make you feel?"

I shrugged. I pulled my hands behind my head. "I guess, weird, but it only lasted like two seconds. Amy pulled me towards some flamingos before I could think of anything else. After that, I didn't care. I had my… friends." I smiled. _I have friends. _I got out of the house and spent the day with my friends. Why it is I didn't realize it before, I have no idea. But me, the kid who everyone avoided has friends.

I had this goofy grin on my face and I looked at Doc. He smiled and chuckled. "I've never seen you glow like that before."

"I hadn't come to terms with it before."

"And now how do you feel in regards to your friends."

I smirked and looked back at the ceiling. "I think the pieces are falling together."

"Go on."

"At the zoo… I felt, normal, like I was never lonely. I mean sure, Rouge wasn't really a… trooper and she did have a little break down when she stepped in goat droppings." We laughed.

"I wouldn't have suspected anything less from her."

"Yeah, she's a piece of work. Knuckles had to carry her out. He's like her keeper or something, but it's weird."

"Weird?"

"He gets this annoyed look on his face, then indifferent and then he helps Rouge."

"I see."

"I don't get it. It's just weird."

"Anything else you noticed?"

"Hmm… Yeah Tails stuck to Cream like glue."

"It that bad?"

"Doubt it. I don't think Cream will crush Tails to bits. That's not Cream. If she has a thing for Tails, I don't know. She's sweet to everyone. It's kind of hard to tell… But Rocky sure made a move." I grinned.

* * *

><p>It was lunch time. We sat at two picnic tables. Right before any food was in sight I noticed that Rocky and Melody weren't with us.<p>

"Did we lose Rocky and Melody somewhere?" I asked.

The adults looked at us and then got this panic look on their faces.

"I think I saw them head towards the fountain." Cream said."

"I'll get them." I said.

"I'll come with you." Knuckles told me as I got up from the table.

"If you want." I told him starting to move away from the table.

"Be careful." Mrs. Rose said.

"No worries." I told her. We headed towards the fountain. We spotted them and I saw this nervous look on Rocky's face. I stretched my arm out in front of Knuckles stopping him from taking another step.

"What are you– "

I shushed him.

"Sonic."

I shushed him again. I motioned with my hand for him to follow me. He looked at me funny, shrugged and followed me. We took a long way around to get to a bush that was by them. Ricky had had his hands behind his back and scoffed at the ground with his feet.

_What are you up? _I thought to myself. I saw him take his balled up hand and opened it. There was a… spoon in his hand… a really weird looking spoon

"I carved it myself."

"It's really nice Rocky." It sounded more like a question. I couldn't blame her. Why would anyone give someone a carved spoon?

"Take a closer look at the notes."

"Jingle Bell Rock?"

He laughed a little. "Yeah, remember, it was the first song I heard you play."

"That Christmas recital! How could I forget?! You were there to help me with my stage fright." She smiled and looked at Rocky and then at the spoon with a puzzled look on her face. She smiled again and looked at Rocky. "Thanks Rocky."

"You don't know why I gave you the spoon do you?"

"Well…" Her face looked all scrunched up.

Rocky held up his hand. "No worries. You see, Celtic young men would carve an uh, love spoon and give it to a girl he finds appealing."

Knuckles and I shared a look.

"Oh." Melody had her aha moment. Rocky looked kind of stiff. Melody looked at the spoon and then back at Rocky. She whispered something in his ear and he hugged her back.

* * *

><p>"A real tender moment, Doc."<p>

"Did you know he liked her?"

"No idea."

"You young ones grow up so fast."

"He gave her a spoon Doc. It's not like he asked her out." I looked over at him and cocked my eye brow.

"He showed affection towards her just as Amy has to you. Which reminds me, did you ever return that little kiss hmm…?"

I was afraid of this. He's going into his teasing mode. He had this grin on his face and I hid mine in my hands.

"Come now Sonic. You know I can't tell anyone what we talk about."

"I know, I know. It's part of your profession. Ugh. Okay, no I still haven't. I'm kind of… shaken."

"Interesting. Go on." Doc waved his hands forward.

"I don't know, I liked it but it felt… rushed."

"And yet you're possibly the fastest thirteen year old out there. Happy birthday by the way, Sonic."

I chuckled. "I guess.. And thanks Doc." There was a silence. I sighed. "I really like her Doc. I don't want to lose her.

"And the kiss?"

"Don't you worry about it, I'll kiss her back. I really want to."

"So what's stopping you?"

I smirked. "I thought it was your job to figure stuff like that out." I looked over at him.

"Hmm…" He looked at me in deep thought. "I think you're afraid of hurting Amy if you get too close too soon."

* * *

><p><strong>Edited by That Sky-Fox11 aka Best in the World.<strong>

_**Yeah no. Nice try Kiddo.** _


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank You! All of you for welcoming me back with open arms. I really appreciate it and helps keep me going. So, thank you. **

**Sorry to say though that this one is kind of a filler. But no matter. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Sonic's POV<p>

I thought about what Doc said as I ran home… well not really run back home. I ran around the city dodging traffic and people. It was almost too easy now after so long. I got tired of it and ran into the woods. I followed the trail I had made after running through the forest so many times over the years. I slowed down my pace. It all goes back to me being scared… and I'm scared because my dad beat it into me. _Thanks DAD! I finally found a girl I really like and now I can't kiss her back. _

I shook that kind of negative talk out of my head. I'll kiss her back by the end of the summer if it's the last thing I do. At least then I could die happy. I reached the backyard and told myself, _All right Sonic, it's your birthday, let it go and enjoy the day. _I suspected Ma made my favorite like always. I heard my stomach growl as I thought about delicious chili dogs. I gave a bit of a um, a chuckle after I hear it. I rubbed my belly and then tried to open the door. It was locked.

_Strange. _This door is always opened. I walked around to try the front door. I opened it and it was so dark inside. "Ma?" Nothing. "Shadow?" Still no. I sighed. Well, at least they'd be back by dinner. It wouldn't be long for them to come back home. I turned on the lights and…

"Surprise!"

"Ah." I jumped back and fell on the front step. I cursed myself in my head because my voice cracked again. _Damn it. Every time. _I held onto my heart as it pounded. I… seriously did not see that one coming. The next thing I knew Amy was kneeling down beside me and hugged me. "Happy birthday Sonic!" She kissed my cheek.

I heard the adults go "Aw…" I felt my cheeks turn red as the guys helped me up. I was in a bit of a daze before I shook my head.

"I didn't think you'd be that surprised." Tails said while trying to keep in a laugh.

"Hey I never had friends on my birthday before, cut me some slack! You could've given me a heart attack."

Everyone looked at me not knowing whether to laugh or to feel sorry for me. I cursed myself for causing such an awkward silence.

"Uh, how about a game of twister?" Mrs. Rose suggested… the hedgehog one. Everyone was glad to either get out of this situation or to get on with the fun… or both. But I think Knuckles in particular just wanted to get out of this situation. And so did I. So, on with the fun. Everything was fine until it was just me and Amy on the mat. The adults had gone to the kitchen to set up for dinner. Rouge was calling the shots. From the moment the spinner was handed to her I had this bad feeling in my stomach.

It wasn't until she said "Sonic, right hand on green," that I realized what she was up to. _Oh no, I'm not going to let you have this laugh Rouge. _

"Can I not?" Amy might not understand what was going on but I sure enough wasn't going to be the one to explain it to her.

"Either you do it, or you quit Sonic." Rouge told me with this scary grin on her face.

At least she gave me a way out. "Then Amy wins." I got up and helped Amy up. "Congrats Amy." She looked at me with a puzzled look.

"Kids, dinner!" _Thanks Ma. _I thought.

"Come on." I grabbed Amy by the hand and ran out of there. What I didn't know was how fast I sped out of there.

"Aaahh!" I heard her scream and stopped right in front of the table. I looked at her. She blinked and had these wide eyes. It almost made my own eyes hurt just looking at them.

She opened her mouth to say something but Knuckles beat her to it. "Since when can you do that?"

"Uh, since always." It sounded more like a question than a statement to me. "I run into school that fast all the time."

"I was wondering why there was always this burst of wind right before the bell rang." Will said.

"That was you this whole time Sonic?" Cream asked, kind of mad.

"Yeah, um… did I do something?"

She sighed. "You made me drop my model of the Sphynx."

"I did?" I honestly had no idea.

"Yup."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Sometimes I just don't see anyone when I'm going that fast."

"All right all right. Come along and sit." Mrs. Rose said kind of nervous. She and the other adults sat around the counter leaving us kids at the table.

So we sat. Amy whispered, "Why didn't you tell me you had a super power?"

_Why does everyone insist it's a super power? _"It's not a super power. I just can run really fast."

"Well, why didn't you tell me?" She persisted.

"I don't, must've slipped my mind."

"You let a cool thing like that slip your mind?" She had a smirk and almost sounded sarcastic.

"Well, no one says "Hi, I can run at the speed of sound." too often now do they?"

"He's got you there Amy." Tails said. I hadn't realized that everyone else was listening.

"But still, how is it that we never noticed it before?" Melody asked.

"I never used it before with anyone else but Tails."

"You knew all along?" Melody asked.

"Yes."

"Well, why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't find it necessary."

I got a little tired of this. "Can we please talk about something else?"

There was a bit of silence. Then Will asked, "Pardon me Amy, but where did you transfer?"

Well that was totally out of the blue. "Actually I'm going to school with the rest of you guys."

"What?" I looked at her shocked.

"Oh, sorry Sonic, I forgot to tell you when Mommy cleared it up for me."

"This is wonderful we might be in the same class Amy." Cream said.

"Oh I really hope so Cream."

So did I. I looked at Tails with this "Help me." Look. He looked sympathetically at me.

He whispered, "Relax Sonic, remember, there's nothing to worry about. He won't know."

I looked back on that day we talk about it. The likelihood of him even seeing her with me at school is low. The middle-schoolers are in a separate building. I relaxed. I felt better. The rest of the time the conversations kind of blended. I can't point out where one stopped and the other started.

When it came time for cake, I sat at the head of the table with the cake in front of me. The big one and three candles lit and Ma switched the lights off. They started to sing and when they did I looked at their faces. I looked back at when I first met every single one of them. Time seemed to slow down for a bit as I remembered it all. Then I noticed something out of place… Shadow. He wasn't with them. I felt my heart sink a bit. I might have my friends but not my family. Shadow might not be perfect, but he was always here on my birthday and took care of me when we were in hell. He could've just left me to fend for myself but he didn't. He became a parent to me. Him not being there kind of made the whole thing not worth it. But then I looked at everyone's faces. I couldn't have a frown on my face after they put time aside for me. I faked a smile.

When they stopped singing, Amy told me, "Make a wish Sonic."

I took a moment, smiled and blew out the candles. There was clapping and praise. Ma switched the light on. Then a burst of wind came in through the door.

"Aww, I missed it." Shadow stood right next to me. "Sorry lil' bro."

"Shadow!" I was going to hug him. But I remembered everyone else was looking. I knew Knuckles and Rouge would never let me live it down. "Had you been here like five minutes ago, maybe you wouldn't have."

"Hey, a quality gift isn't found so easily. You have no idea how long it took me to track this thing down."

He held out a guitar case to me. "A new guitar?"

"Not just any guitar." He put the case down, opened it and pulled out a black electric guitar. I noticed a name on it.

"No way!"

"Uh-huh, an autographed guitar by Matt "Thrash" the Devil Dog." He handed it to me. "She's yours Sonic. Happy birthday little brother." He ruffled my quills while I admired the guitar.

"Hey!" I smoothed my quills back the way they were.

He laughed.

_Older brothers. _


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello everybody. Annie here, and I think I'm back in the game. Let's hope it lasts.**

**Any who enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Sonic's POV<p>

So, I was with the guys. We gathered at my place and were out by the pond. Tails thought I should try my hand at ecology and conservation since I like the outdoors so much. Another science but maybe field work was more up my alley rather than lab work. I did like catching minnows with Amy.

I saw Knuckles lead Tails and Rocky a little deeper into the woods. I was up in a tree while Will was right under me with a guidebook in his hands. I looked at the cover to find it was on native insects to our area. I found it kind of weird for him to have that. I knew he liked to read but I doubt he was so interested in insects.

"Do normally carry those around with you?"

He didn't look up. "No, I only thought it would be useful to have them handy. I have a section just for guidebooks in my library."

I thought about how big that library should be. Knowing Will, I wouldn't be surprised if he slept on a pile of books… That, would not be good for your back. A butterfly flew around my head and landed on my nose.

"Hmm…" I looked at Will who was focused on his book looking for… well, I could only guess the species that's made my nose its landing place. "Ah, it's a banded peacock."

"Huh, weird, name one creature that flies after another."

"We have no control over their names, at least we can identify them."

The butterfly finally had enough and flew off my nose. I sneezed.

"Bless you Sonic." I saw Will placing his book into his bag.

"Thanks Will. Hey can I call you Will?" It dawned on me that I've been calling him that without even asking him if it was okay with him.

"If you wish to, although you've called me simply by Will for quite some time now."

I kind of smiled like an idiot. "Yeah." _Damn it. _Why can't this voice just fully develop already? I'm sick of this. "Sorry, Will." _I hate puberty. _

He shrugged. "No matter. I am still me no matter what I'm called. It's just a name."

"If you say so Will."

"Hey Sonic!" I heard Knuckles call out.

I knew why. I saw him walking towards it. I hopped down and landed next to Will. "Come on." I told him. He nodded.

I led the way until I saw them near that old bridge. It collapsed in the middle and the wood was so wet and green.

"How long has it been here?" Knuckles asked.

"Don't know. Found it here a wreck when we moved in."

Rocky said, "I'd say it's about forty to fifty years old by the judge of decay and moss." He walked towards me. "A shame really. It was even lit on fire."

"Really?" I looked at him surprised.

He nodded. "Yup. There are still some charred remains on the ends. Probably why it's in halves now."

I looked at the bridge. I never would've guessed that bridge was on fire. "What could have caused it?" I thought out loud. Before I could even curse myself Rocky said something.

"Who knows. Lightening strike, purposely lit on fire by someone."

"Why would someone want to light it on fire?" Why were these questions just coming out of my mouth? I couldn't stop myself.

He shrugged.

"Hey, take a look at this." Tails said. We turned to him and crowded around him.

"What you got there Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"Wow, nice find Tails. You don't find many of these guys around much anymore." Rocky said. It was one of those old keys with just two teeth. Funny how around here, some people actually keep those old knobs and keys. On the end I noticed there was some kind of bird with the impression of a ribbon wrapping around it. I'd seen that image somewhere before…

"Do you know what it could open Rocky?" Tails asked.

"Well, who knows if the key hole for this thing still exists." I heard the guys giggle. "Oh real mature guys."

That's when it hit me. I took the key and ran to the front of the house. I looked near the roof where it was. I held up the key so the bird on the key would look as big as the one on the house. I smiled. Then I heard the guys approaching. They were panting by the time they gathered around me.

"Jeez Sonic." Knuckles said.

"Mind giving us a warning? You practically pulled us all with you." Tails said.

"Sorry guys but look." They looked at the key and then at the house.

"Nice work Sonic." Rocky gave me a pat on the back.

"It would appear that key has something to do with your house." Will said.

I looked at the house. "I wonder who lived in it before we move in." Again, the thinking out loud. Something is not right with me today.

"I think I can help with that." Tails said. "Come one." Tails said as he walked up to the door and opened it.

"You can Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"Sure, you can find all kinds of records, even ones you're not supposed to see, but… that's beside the point."

I looked at Knuckles, he shrugged and we all went into the house. Tails had his laptop on the coffee table while we crowded around him. I saw him just go through different web pages almost as fast as I could run. It almost scared me how Tails could do that. After a while he exclaimed, "Aha, his name was Matthew De Bourgh. He was a big player in the auto industry… whoa! He was murdered here."

"What?" We all exclaimed in chorus. Someone was killed here?

"Yeah, he was found in the kitchen."

I don't know why, but I sped into the kitchen. I ignored the groans I heard from the guys on the living room.

"Sonic!" They yelled.

I only looked at the kitchen. Someone was killed here. "Where was he?" I asked.

"What?" I heard from the living room.

"Where was his body?" I responded not caring who would answer me.

"Dude?"

I turned around to find them standing in the door way just staring at me with these concerned looks.

"Are you feeling okay Sonic?" Tails asked, his laptop in his hands.

"Fine, why?"

"Well, besides the fact that you nearly knocked the wind right out of us twice today-" Will started.

"-You're really interested in some dead guy." Knuckles finished.

"Hang on a minute guys." Tails burst with sudden enthusiasm. "That's it."

"What's it?" We asked him. Weird how we can do that

"You're niche Sonic. I think it might be in detective work."

"Detective work?"I asked.

"Sure, you ask a lot of questions and have a good eye for detail. Not to mention a strong sense of justice and self-sacrifice. I think you'd make a great detective."

I thought about it. Detective huh? "Detective Sonic the Hedgehog." I said just trying it. "I think I like the sound of that."

Just then the door bell rang. "Must be Dave." Tails said.

Before the guys left, they gave me my congrats and pat my back. Dave even ruffled my quills like Shadow does. Tails left me his laptop though. He thought it might be good for me to look at more stuff on Mr. De Bourgh and his murder case. I took the laptop in my lap. I looked at some articles that Tails already had pulled up before he left.

He grew up in a blue collar family; worked for a majority of his life and then came into the auto industry. He had a wife, no children, and a younger brother. His dad passed away when he was only ten. His mom worked two jobs to try to make ends meet. _Wow, I guess we've both had it rough. _At least his father wasn't a dirt bag like my old man. When he was old enough, he helped his mother out. Then when he made it big in the auto industry he had this place built for his family.

Looking into more at the incident, a shot gun was the murder weapon, but it was never found. One bullet went through his head, the other, through his middle area. The second bullet was never found. His body was found in the kitchen lying faced down toward the sink. The only lead was that victim knew the killer. The door was open and there was no sign of breaking and entering or a struggle.

I heard the door open. "Sonic?"

"Bro?" I called out.

He came in. Whatcha doin' Squirt?" He plopped down on the couch and ruffled my quills.

"Hey!" I complained. He laughed as I ran my hands through my quills to smooth them back to normal.

"I love that. But seriously, what are you doing?"

"Check it out! The guy who owned the house before us was killed here."

"What?" he looked at me funny. I pointed to the screen and told him what I found out. By the end of it, his face went from shock to understanding. "Heavy. I always wondered why this place was on the market for so long."

"I wonder why no one ever said anything." I told him.

"Who knows? People are weird Sonic. For all we know, anyone who lived here when it happened is probably dead or in a retirement home or moved away."

I pondered what he said. "True."

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you little brother."

"Huh?" I looked at him funny.

He grinned. "My brother the detective… Can't wait 'till I can start saying that."


	21. Chapter 21

**I am really excited about this one. It took me a while to get it how I wanted but I think the extra time used to get to it was well worth it. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Sonic's POV<p>

So, it was the end of the week. I was with Amy by the pond for a picnic lunch. I promised her that it would just be the two of us. I haven't seen much of Amy lately. As great company as the guys are, I also just want to spend some time with Amy.

"So, what happened with you this week Sonic?"

We were on the picnic blanket. I was about to unpack everything. "Well, after we found my niche-"

"Wait you found it?! What is it?" Amy was up in my face with that smile of hers. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard enough to shut down my senses. When she finally stopped, I could've sworn I saw three Amys. I wasn't sure which one was the real one so I just answered.

"Uh, detective work…so to speak." Eventually the three turned back into just one Amy that was walking around the blanket. She wasn't paying much attention to me as I just stared at her.

She kept repeating, "My boyfriend the detective," in different ways. I just laughed silently to myself. She's just so… cute. I love this childish wonder about her. It makes me feel like I never lost my own childhood when I'm with her. For a while, I just stared at her and smiled.

"Okay, okay, come on Amy, don't hurt yourself." I patted on the empty spot next to me. She smiled and giggled. I handed her the fruit salad when she finally sat back down.

"So what happened next?" She asked and then plopped a grape into her mouth.

I took a turkey sandwich in my hands. "Well, we went over to Tails' the next day. He gave me his old laptop."

"Wha? Really?" She looked at me funny.

"Yeah, it surprised me too. It wasn't even old; it came out like six months ago." I took a bite while still trying to wrap my head around it.

"I wonder how many computers Tails has had."

I laughed. "A lot. What I want to know is why he keeps them all in their old cases in a safe."

"A safe?!" She looked at me kind of shocked and worried.

"Yes, a safe. I don't know why he just doesn't sell them or something." I took another bite.

Amy took a sip of water while she pondered over what I said. "Maybe, they're like pets."

"Pets?" Where was she going with this?

"Well, knowing Tails, he cares for his computers like we would our fish. So you don't just want to throw them away when you've bonded with them."

I nodded in understanding… sort of. But hey, who am I to judge Tails over his computer obsession.

"Why did he give it to you?" Amy asked. She took about out of her sandwich.

"I don't know, every detective needs a good computer, I guess. There are some programs in there I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with. And there are these sort of simulation of different kinds of cases."

"Does that mean it's like a game?"

"I… guess you can call it that." I started to nod slowly. "I mean no one ever really gets hurt." I finished up my sandwich and rubbed my hands together to get rid of the crumbs.

"So, it's like practice for the real thing?"

"I guess." I took a sip of water. "But the real thing is scary business." I looked at her.

She nodded. "Yeah, I know. My uncle Jeff is a cop. He nearly lost his life when they were trying to rescue some girls from this crazy guy who took them away from home."

I was taken back by this. I never heard anything like this come from Amy. She looked kind of glum. I took a good look at her.

"That's really horrible, why people do that."

I just stared at her. She… understood the situation… she knows that some people are just… bad. I mean yeah, she knew not everyone was nice, but to understand crime like this… Even through her experiences with people, she still managed to grow up with that wonder of hers that I just love. Sweet, sweet Amy…

"Sonic?"

"Huh, um sorry I just…"

She looked at me kind of weird. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry I just…I never knew you… understood the kind of danger that comes with being a cop."

"Oh, well, yeah… I mean they carry around guns for a reason."

"Right." I looked at her still not believing it. My sweet Amy… more grown up than I realize. There was some silence.

"Um… what else happened?" Amy asked.

"Oh, um…" I was relieved Amy got us out of that. "Will gave me some books on forensics, some mystery novels, one on guns that he had lying around."

"How many books did he give you?"

"A lot. That kid has books all over the place. There was rack with a few books in his bath room."

She spit out the water she had started to drink. "The bathroom?!"

"Yes, the bathroom. It kind of scared me." I nodded all slow like.

"I… guess he got tired of reading the paper in the bathroom." We laughed.

"Maybe."

She giggled one last time. "Then what?"

"Rocky have me few magnifying glasses… a lot of tiny brushes… and a fedora." I said the last thing more like it was a question.

"A fedora?" She looked at me funny.

"Yeah… I don't even know why. He just handed it to me." I shrugged.

She nodded. "What about Knuckles?"

"He gave me this." I pulled it out from under my shirt. It was a black stone, with this weird kind of diamond shape carved into it that was held by a piece of string around my neck. There was some white paint that defined the shape.

She came closer and took the stone in her hand. "It's pretty." She smiled.

"It's some kind of charm. It's supposed to stimulate my brain and help keep my thoughts collective and reasonable."

"Does it work?"

"Maybe when I take on my first case." We looked at each other. It suddenly dawned on me that we were so close. We didn't move and I felt myself getting hotter. I couldn't move… I couldn't say anything. I was stuck just staring at her. I felt myself tremble a little and my heart beating fast I could hear it in my ears.

Then, for some reason, Amy brought her hand to my forehead and then my cheek. She had this concern look on her face. I was… confused."Hm… no fever."

"Fever?" I looked at her funny.

"Well, you looked ill for a few seconds. I thought you could be getting sick like Mommy."

I remembered that her mom caught the flu earlier this summer the day of her first sleepover with the girls. "Oh, um… no Amy I'm perfectly healthy."

She kind of eyes me and cocks her head to the side. She looked so cute I wanted to laugh. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. "Okay… Sonic, if you say so."

I sighed in relief. "So… how was your week?" I asked her wanting to get out of this awkward moment fast.

"Oh, let's see…oh we went over to Melody's house."

"Really? What's it like?" I smiled at her enthusiasm.

"It was big… really…big. I was almost scared to go in." She scrunched up her body and hugged her knees. I could see her cheeks grow red from embarrassment.

I smiled at how she acted. "Aww… come on Amy. It couldn't have been that scary." I smirked.

"You weren't there. That thing could have eaten us up."

I grew suspicious.

"Amy?"

"Yeah…"

"Did you and the girls watch that evil house movie the day before you went over there?" I looked at her with a look that told her I had her cornered and that she should just fess up.

"I don't know what you mean." She un-scrunched her body. She tried to act clueless but she was on the verge of failing pretty badly.

"Amy…" I urged her.

"What?"

I eyed her.

"Oh, fine, so what if we did?"

"You know what horror films do to you Amy." I told her. I learned that one the hard way. For a week I ended up staying with Amy in her bed until she fell asleep after we watched one of those old kind black and white films I thought would be hilarious instead of scary. Apparently, I was wrong. Amy wouldn't sleep without me. She was convinced that, because of the movie, the only thing that would keep the monsters away was to have her… special someone with her at night. Don't get me wrong, I mean… it was nice being with Amy and all. But… it was just annoying every time she woke me up because of a noise that was easily explained. I really like Amy… but I also like sleep.

"I know…" She pouted and looked at me with these innocent eyes.

I sighed feeling defeated. "Okay… um, what else was up other than the giant house."

"Mmm… Oh she has a cool music room. There was this giant piano and there were chimes…and, and a few drums. There were some more instruments on the wall…I think they were all like violins and cellos. There were a few wind instruments. I can't remember what they were all called though."

"Sounds like Melody has one heck of a collection."

"It was cool, and she had a camera with a um… what did she call it… a green screen. We made our own music videos."

"Seriously?" I didn't admit it but I was feeling a bit jealous towards Amy and her fun with the girls.

"It was fun. We're planning our next sleepover at Melody's and Cream's bringing her costume trunk. It's going to be a blast."

"And let me guess, I'm not invited." I said with fake hurt.

She smiled weakly. "Sorry Sonic, but you know the rules to girls' sleepovers." She said all cheeky. This is new.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll be fine home… all alone." I was taking on my brother's drama king thing he has going on. "Don't mind me Amy. You go on." Wow… I'm not half bad at this drama king thing.

"Sonic!" I smiled. She punched me playfully and we laughed. Oh, how I've missed this. I've missed Amy. It's all thanks to her I'm out of my shell. I, actually for the first time in my life, am not dreading the school year… which is actually not too far away… just a few days. Well, with Amy and everyone else… I think… I'll actually be happy there… or at least, not care that everyone else will look at us funny. It might be weird at first… but I think we're a stronger group than I give it credit for. We can do this… together.

A butterfly came by. It landed on my nose. Amy giggled at it and tried to convince the butterfly to climb onto her finger. The butterfly didn't agree and started to fly away with Amy hot on its trail.

"Come on Sonic!" She exclaimed as she chased the winged insect. I just looked at her kind of dumbfounded but then I shrugged and thought to myself, _What the heck? It won't kill me. _The butterfly came flying towards me and when it passed me, I got up and started chasing it too. It was strangely amusing just chasing it mindlessly. I guess this is what Tails feels like when we just toss a ball around. It was… strangely liberating, I honestly don't know how to explain it. I felt… so childish and free. I liked it… there was this feeling of no worries, no obstacles, no bad people in the world…

I didn't notice it, but Amy came up from behind me and passed me. Then the butterfly did a real swift turn around with Amy just following it when – _Smack! _We… crashed into each other.

"Ow!" I took my head in my hand and rubbed it. I was on my knees with one hand still touching the ground. "You all right Amy?" I stopped rubbing my head and well… I noticed that I was on top of Amy. "Gah!" I got up and somehow I ended up in a tree hugging the trunk. "I'm sorry Amy."

"I'm fine Sonic. Besides, I'm the one who ran into you." I looked at her, she sat up. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." _Darn it. _I said it too fast for my own liking. Not to mention the whole voice change thing is really starting to take its toll. I turned away. I heard something disturbing the branches. I looked down and saw Amy climbing up the tree. "Amy?"

"Well, I had a feeling that you weren't going to come down for a while. So… I thought I'd come up here with you."

I sighed, grabbed her hand and helped her up. She smiled at me and sat down on the branch. I did too. We looked at each other and then… she giggled.

"What?" I asked.

She held her hand to her mouth.

"What?" I urged wondering what I was missing.

"The… the butterfly… it's on your head."

"What?" Just then I felt the butterfly walk onto my forehead. I kind of scrunched up as I felt the critter move. As much as I like butterflies, them crawling on me, doesn't sit well with me. It felt weird… just weird. It flew away. I sighed in relief while Amy went ahead and laughed on my behalf. I looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm sorry. You just looked silly. It was like you were wearing a bow in your quills."

I imagined it and shuddered at the thought.

She giggled again. I just smiled and looked at her. I liked the sound of her giggle…like soft bells, it was sweet… She smiled back… and well… I leaned towards her and… kissed her. The world… seemed distant, but I could still hear the birds singing. I felt free… like a child. I know this is going to sound so overdone but… although it was only like two seconds… it seemed like an eternity.

When I pulled away, I felt my cheeks grow hot and I looked at Amy who had this shocked look on her face. I noticed her cheeks growing red too. I weakly smiled at her and she looked at me kind of funny but ended up smiling so widely at me. Then… wouldn't you know, the butterfly came back and landed on my nose.

"Okay buddy, seriously. What is up with you and my nose?" I talked to it as if it could talk back. I gave it a glare as it brought out its straw like thing. Amy giggled and tried to get the butterfly to climb onto her finger. It did and I sneezed.

"Bless you Sonic."

"Thanks." I told her. The butterfly flew away again.

Weird bugs.

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><p><strong>Edited by That Sky-Fox11 aka The Pipe Bomb.<strong>

_**All right, you've had your fun. Now let it go kid.**_


	22. Chapter 22

**bearvalley3365, relax, it's just a bit of fun between me and my editor who is also a writer I'm mentoring and thinks kind of highly of himself sometimes. The last part that is in italics is me telling him to check himself and to not get carried away. Nothing to worry about. I am very sorry for any troubled feelings you may have gotten. **

** Anne**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

I was in my room getting my bag ready for tomorrow. First day of school and I'm going in good and ready for the first time. Tails, Melody, Rocky, Will and I will go in as the top students in our graduating class. They promised to stick with me no matter what. No matter what Blake would throw at us… at least we'd have a few eyes and ears. Knuckles and Rouge are close to Blake's ring of people. They'll give us warning of anything up. Cream and Amy… they have nothing to worry about. No way Blake will ever cross into the elementary building… let alone see me with Amy. Just one year… one more year with that guy and I can leave it all behind me.

I zipped up the bag. Everything I'll need for next nine months all packed up and ready to go. I have my mind cleared and I'm relaxed for the first time on the day before school starts up again. I got into bed with a mystery novel that I hadn't read yet. Nice read, a stolen painting, a murder and a funny side kick. I heard a knock. I looked up and saw Shadow.

"You're knocking?" I cocked my eyebrow.

Shadow smirked at me. "I can be civilized too you know."

"Sure Shadow, sure… what did you do?" I knew he was up to something. He can't fool me.

"Remember Maria?"

"The one that got away. Yeah, I remember." She was the closest thing to a girlfriend Shadow ever had. All the other girls were just flings, but Maria was different. Shadow had it bad for her… and that's what drove him away. They were together… although he would never admit it out loud. I knew though, just by the way they acted. I thought she would be my sister in law… until Shadow drove her away. Instead of breaking up with her, he made sure she caught him cheating on her and have her break up with him.

"You think I can get her back?"

I looked at him. He had to be joking… he had to… But when I looked at him… he looked sad and just stared at me… no sign of joking at all. He wanted to get a girl back… and he was getting _my _opinion. When it comes to girls, Shadow never asks me about it, he just says a few things and gets his kicks without a problem. Why does he all of a sudden come to me? Does he suddenly see the error of his ways?

"I… don't know Shadow. You hurt her pretty badly and it's been years. And you've never tried to get a girl back before."

He sighed. "Can you give me yes or no instead?"

"It's not that simple Shadow. You can grab them the first time sure… but a second time… And Maria is a smart girl…"

He just looked at me with this look of despair.

"Why don't you follow your own advice and go for it."

"You remembered?" Suddenly he smiled.

"How can I forget?" I used that advice when Tails was the new kid.

He nodded. "Thanks bro. Finally got my head cleared up."

"What happened anyway?" I looked at him curiously. Something had to have triggered this.

"I saw her on campus. She transferred in at the beginning of the year."

I waited for him to go on. He had this distant look in his eyes.

"All the good memories came flooding in… and the more and more I remembered the good times… the more I felt like an idiot letting her go."

"So now you want her back more so than you ever wanted to land a girl in the first place?"

"This has nothing to do with sex this time Sonic." He looked annoyed at me. There's my brother.

"You're in love." Well that came out easier than I thought it would… it's happening again… my mouth and brain just go off together on their own. Imagine, my brother the womanizer… in love.

"I wouldn't call it that little brother." He sounded stern but I could see the redness in his cheeks.

"Why not?" I smirked. "You had it pretty bad for her before."

"That doesn't call it love though Sonic." He told me. I had a feeling that he was trying to convince himself instead of me.

"Oh come on Shadow admit it. You were in love with her and that's why you let her go. You knew you would hurt her sooner or later and that it would end badly. So you sped up the process."

He looked at me shocked. I was shocked at myself. The words just flew out of my mouth and I knew I was right. I looked at all of his patterns with girls and remembered a few things I learned while reading a few books Doc let me borrow. He told me, when it came to detective work, criminal profiling was a good skill to have.

"Come on bro, you can't get her back unless you admit to yourself that you were in love with her and that you were a complete idiot." Kind of harsh, I know, but I can't let my bro go into this without understanding what he did.

He pinched his nose before looking back at me. I had my arms crossed over my chest waiting. He sighed. "I was in love with Maria and I was a complete idiot."

"Say it like you mean it." I ordered him.

"I was in love with Maria and I was a complete idiot…" He broke down and got on his knees. He cried… Shadow never cries.

"Shadow?" I got off my bed and walked towards him. He got up and wiped his eyes before I was another step away from him.

"I'm fine." He looked at me and ruffled my quills. "Don't you worry about me little brother."

"I wish you'd stop doing that." I smoothed my quills back again.

He laughed. "Not even on your wedding day. Speaking of which, did you finally do it?"

"Do what?" I looked away.

"Don't play dumb with me little brother. You know what I mean." He cocked an eyebrow at me and smirked.

He had me. I hate it when he does that. I sighed. "Yeah." I started to smile like an idiot and I felt myself blushing… _Shit. _

"Aww… When? How?"

Great, he was getting all gossipy and girly on me now.

"Come on. You gotta tell me." He took my shoulders and shook me back and forth.

"I honestly don't know how it happened, it just happened. We were up in the tree and she just looked so beautiful… and I missed her company so I just did it. I wasn't even thinking." I said kind of shakily.

"Man I wish I could've taken a picture. That so would've been a great Christmas card."

I sighed in relief that he didn't. He glared at me. "What?" I eyed him.

He lifted up his head and said, "Nothing." I cocked an eyebrow at him. "See ya in the morning Sonic… Maybe." Just like that… he strolled out the door. My brother sure is weird sometimes. I was about to go back to bed when I heard someone coming up the stairs.

"Sonic, Honey are you still awake?" I heard Ma ask.

"Yeah, not for long though." I hopped back in and under the covers before she poked her head in. "What's up Ma?" I set the book on my night stand.

She came in all smiles. Something seemed off about that. She sat down on my bed and forcefully hugged me.

"Oh my little baby…" This is… weird.

She pulled away from me and wiped away some tears. Ma…. never cries. She always had to be strong for her boys.

"Ma?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

I tilted my head to the right side just looking at her. Her quills neat and face clear of any make up. She sure has been wearing a lot of it lately and forgets what she's doing. My hunch is a new doctor at the office… likely single and Ma is doing what women do in these kinds of situations. I've never seen her like this. She was out of her scrubs and in a robe.

"I mean it Sonic, it's just that… my little boy is growing up."

I looked away and then back at her wondering what to say. "Well, yeah, that's what teens do Ma. It was going to happen sooner or later."

"I prefer the latter."

"Ma!" I whined.

She smiled all motherly at me and caressed my cheek. "You've come so far in so little time."

"Ma." I complained. She was going to get all teary eyed and it was weird and embarrassing despite no one was there to see.

"You're going into school tomorrow with friends and a brighter attitude."

I sighed. She looked at me waiting for me to say something. "I got tired of being a loner."

"And now you have a little girlfriend." She poked my nose and smirked.

"Ma…" I felt my cheeks grow red.

She giggled. "All right, I'll torture you no longer." She got up. "Lights out in twenty, I mean it Sonic. You can't take Amy to school tired and run right into a tree."

"I know, I know. Relax Ma, we'll be fine… like we have been all summer."

She sighed. "If you say so Sonic." She bent down and kissed my forehead.

"Good night Sonic."

"Good night Ma." She walked out and then the door bell rang. Weird, who could be knocking at this hour? I took the book back and flipped to where I left off. A few minutes later, I heard some more footsteps coming up. They were lighter though… like that of a kid's. _Amy… _I thought. _Must be nervous out of her mind. _I began to think that I was in for a rough night but then I heard his voice.

"Hello Sonic."

I put the book down. What the hell? "Blake!?"

"Yes, long time no see." He looked around my room almost judging it in his head. Then he looked at me with bold blue eyes. Sometimes I wonder if he was ever teased for those things. They sure could clear a room.

He took a few steps toward me. I tensed up a bit. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing really?" He smiled.

He was toying with me. I eyed him. "Get out."

"Oh come now Sonic, can't I just visit my classmate?"

"Sure, just not me."

He laughed half-heartedly. "That is true." His face turned serious. Suddenly his white fur seemed rather dulled.

"What do you want?"

"What were you doing at the zoo a few weeks ago?"

"Um… visiting it. It's a public place you know, I can do that Blake, visit."

He growled. "I understand what a public place is."

"Oh so your poor excuse for a brain can actually function." He was never the brightest kid, average at best.

"Tell me why you waste of space."

"NYOB, Blake." I got out of bed and walked towards him. Our fists clenched up.

"My patience is wearing thin." He warned.

"It looks like that makes two of us." He can't just come into my house and order me around.

"You're in way over your head hedgehog."

"Oh I don't think I am. You know that once I have friends, things will change. You know that your credibility will be questioned. And you sure as hell know you don't want that. Your bullying ends here and now. You either leave me and the nerds alone or you..," I pointed at him, "get tossed out as an outcast."

He laughed. "You really think so?"

"I know so. No matter what crap you throw at me, it'll be noticed and then you'll be the one answering to the principal."

"Oh, I doubt you can ever find any evidence to accuse me of anything." He had this smug look on his face.

"Don't think I can't. You might be the principal's son, but you're going down one way or the other."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Oh, I won't just try." We glared at each other.

"We'll see hedgehog." He turned to walk away, but after one step he came back in an attempt to punch me. I dodged and tripped him. He landed on all fours.

"Get out, Dog." He got up. We glared at each other. He turned to leave for good this time. I watched him take every step.

When he reached the door, he said, "This means war Hedgehog."

"Bring it on, Canine." I smirked. _Blake, you're in for a real surprise. _

***sigh*Where can I start? Some reviewer got scared confused by my presence at the end of Chapter 21. Who was that? The editor below. I'm the 'Pipe Bomb'.**

**Edited by That Sky-Fox11 aka the Pipe Bomb****.**

_**I apologize for his lack of concern. **_


	23. Chapter 23

**Okay, I know I messed up last update and I am so sorry for that and any confusion, but I did post up the right chapter the same day. So please forgive me. Somehow I picked the wrong document and the rest well… you know. Believe me, I felt really ashamed and embarrassed when I realized what happened.**

**On the lighter note, I thank you all for your words of praise. I was pretty excited about the last chapter and this one was just as exciting to write. I hope you guys enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

"Ow!" I sat up in my bed.

"Morning little brother, time to go, get up." Shadow smirked at me.

"Would. You. Stop that!" I told him. I'm seriously getting sick of this.

"Not even on your graduation day Sonic."

I groaned. _Older brothers._

"Oh come on Sonic."

I frowned at him.

He looked up. "First day of school, can't be late. See ya later."

He left as I mumbled, "Like I'm ever late," to myself. I got up, got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Ma was in there, and when she heard me coming she called out, "Morning Sonic."

"Morning Ma."

"How'd you sleep?" She asked as she came over to me with a plate of pancakes.

I shrugged. "Fine I guess."

She smiled. "That's good. Now, eat up."

I nodded.

"I've gotta go, have a good day at school Sonic." She kissed my cheek and left.

As usual, I'm left alone at breakfast. Seemed to be one of the normal things around here. Ma, never kisses me good bye… and that skirt looked pretty tight… That doctor must be something. I finished up, grabbed my bag and headed out the door to get Amy.

I walked up to her house and rang the door bell. Mrs. Rose opened up the door.

"Morning Sonic."

"Morning Mrs. Rose, is Amy ready?"

"Coming." I heard Amy call out from inside. Mrs. Rose turned her head to the inside of the house.

The hedgehog turned back to me and said with a smile, "She'll be right down."

"I'm ready." Amy said. A pink shirt and a plaid skirt… don't normally see that… but it sure worked on Amy. "Bye Mama." She told her mom. She stepped forward, grabbed my hand and started to lead me away from the house.

"Bye you two, have a good day."

"Bye Mrs. Rose." I called out. "Hey, shouldn't I be leading you to school." I told Amy.

"Oh." She stopped walking and looked at me embarrassed. "Heh, sorry."

I smiled at her. "Aw, it's all right Amy. Come on." I nodded forward. She was at least going the right way.

We started off again. Somehow… I was in a really good mood. Weird.

"We're not going to be late, right Sonic?"

"I've got super speed remember? Now worries."

"So _now_ you remember that _little_ detail?" She smirked at me.

I laughed silently.

"Do I look okay? No one's going to make fun of me for it?" She looked down at herself.

"What? No way. You look great Amy. You'll be fine." I reassured.

She smiled at me. "Thanks Sonic." She managed to kiss my cheek as we walked.

I smiled and said, "No problem."

"I really hope the teacher likes me."

I laughed. "You don't need to hope Amy."

"I don't." She cocked an eyebrow at me confused.

"No, you're a sweet little darling, the teacher is going to love you. Trust me."

"You really think so?"

"I don't think, I know. You don't need to be a future detective to figure that out."

She laughed and smiled.

"Now would you quit worrying Amy? You'll be fine."

"Well, what about you?"

I was taken aback by her question but I shook it off. "I'll be fine too. Just can't be seen with you on campus, that's all."

"Then where are we going to meet when we walk home?"

"Where did you say you were going to meet Cream this morning?"

"The swing set."

"There you go."

"But won't people see?"

"Way ahead of you." The school was in sight and we stopped walking. "Mind taking your bag in your hands please, Amy?"

She looked at me funny. "Um, okay." So she did.

I took her in my arms.

"Careful Sonic."

"I'm fine, I've got you."

"I wasn't worried about me, you could pull a muscle or something."

"I'm fine. Just try not to fill up your backpack."

"Got it."

I steadied myself with Amy in my arms. "Remember, wait at the swings for me."

"I'll remember."

I took off, then. Amy had her eyes closed while I dashed through. Everything blurred but I knew exactly where I was going. I dodged some kids that were already there and then settled Amy on a swing. I dashed for the front steps of the middle school building where the rest of the gang should be.

I made it and found them all sitting on the steps waiting for me. "Hey guys."

"Hey Sonic." They said. I smiled and started to walk up to them in the front step. Then… _Smack! _Something hit the back o my head. I fell forward, landed on all fours and felt my knees scrape on the concrete steps.

"Sonic!"

"Are you okay?" Rocky and Will helped me up.

"I've been through worse." I dusted myself off while they gave me these unsure looks. "What hit me anyway?"

They shrugged.

"But I did see it coming from the bike racks." Tails said.

I looked behind me in the general direction. Who else but Blake would be there with his buddies the duck and the squirrel.

"Blake did it."

"What?" I heard Tails say.

"You sure about that Sonic?" I heard Rocky say.

"No doubt about it." There was a bit of a silence.

"Well, we're going into _this_ relatively early." Melody said trying to cut the silence.

"No kidding. First strike and the bell hasn't even rung yet." Rocky responded.

"But can you prove it Sonic?"

I snapped my head to face Will. "What?" I asked… I… had no idea what I was saying.

"Can you prove it Sonic? You know as well we do, you can't just accuse Blake, you need evidence."

He was right. Being the principal's son makes it even harder to convict him of anything. Not to mention that no one ever believes me. He's so good at sneaking the bullying no one ever sees him doing it. I stared out at him… thinking. Then it hit me like… like whatever it was that just hit me a few minutes ago.

"Tails?"

"Yeah."

"You know some physics right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"If we can find what ever hit me, can you calculate where it came from and see if Blake did it?" I turned to him with an excited grin on my face.

"Hey yeah." He exclaimed.

"By George, I think he's got it." Will said. I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean but I suppose it meant I kept my head on straight and kept the whole, get Blake back for everything he's done, from clouding my judgment.

"Quick, everyone, look around and find whatever it was." I told them.

They nodded and scattered. A few minutes in, I was feeling a bit discouraged, but then Melody hollered, "I got it." We gathered around her.

"Awesome, good eye Melody." I told her.

"Thanks Sonic."

"Hey there's something written on it." Rocky pointed out. Melody turned the ball around in her hand. The letters B and F were on the ball in this really neat calligraphy. Looks like it was hardly ever used.

"B.F." Will said.

"Blake Folly." I said. We shared a look. I thought we had him with just that… no other child would have those initials among the middle school-ers and certainly no one would have it in calligraphy. But all it would prove is that he owns it… doesn't mean he threw it. Can't just jump into it. "All right, we know he owns it, but did he throw it?"

"Melody, where exactly did you find it?" Tails asked.

"Right in this tuff of grass." She said, pointing to the spot right at her feet. Tails eyed the spot.

"Mind if I see the baseball?" He held out his hand.

She gave the ball to him. He brought his hand up and down with the ball snug on his palm. "Hm, Sonic?"

"Yeah."

"Can you stand exactly as were before the ball hit you?"

"Sure." I walked to the stairs and the others followed.

Tails quickly scurried up with me.

"Now recreate the landing."

So I did."Hmm…" Tails started to mumble some stuff to himself as he made it up the stairs and rummaged through his bag before he took out a notebook and a pencil. We walked up and watched him… well draw a diagram and these symbols that I wasn't sure what they were or what they meant. The whole thing made me dizzy just looking at. Too many numbers. "Aha!" I shook my head to get the dizzy feeling out of my head. "I've checked it, there's no denying that the ball was thrown from Blake's position."

"You're right Sonic. It was Blake."

"It's only circumstantial though. It's good but it's not enough."

"What?" They asked.

"Like you said Tails, his position, but was he in that position when it was thrown?"

They shared a look.

I sighed. "Look, unless we can make this concrete, there's no way I can bring him in to his dad." And I can't risk Ma being called in because I was being so sure of myself on this. I looked up and I noticed something interesting.

"Hey Tails?"

"Yeah?"

"Were there always security cameras up there?"

They all looked up.

"Yup, and they're always watching." The confidence back in his voice. We brought our heads down and slowly each of us grew a grin.

"I think… we just found our concrete evidence." I said.

"Oh really?" _Crap. _I turned around to find Blake with a smug look on his face.

"Blake." I said as I crossed my hands over my chest.

"Yes, hello Sonic, now what concrete evidence?"

"Admit it. You threw that baseball at me on purpose." Just came out of my mouth… no turning back now.

"Oh, dear Sonic, now why would I do that?" Then he smirked and loudly said, "Why would I purposely throw a baseball at your head?" I knew what he was doing… gathering witnesses to make sure they see him make a fool out of me… but I'm not going to let it happen… not this time.

"You sure as hell know why."

"Sure, but how would you even prove it was me?"

"The math doesn't lie." I told him. "Tails." I knew I couldn't go the principal with what we had… but why spoil the chance to show him what I can scrape up in just a few minutes with just my wits. Maybe scaring him will prompt him to be sloppy with his bullying and people would notice. Or maybe he'd leave me alone finally… wishful thinking, but still a possibility. No matter how he responds… at least I'll get inside his head; tell him that if he messes with me he won't get away so easily.

He held up his notebook. "It was _that_ ball thrown from _your_ position that could have caused Sonic to fall like that." He said loud enough for the students to hear.

There was a gasp among the student body.

"But I didn't do it on purpose." He told them.

"That amount of force could only be exerted with a purpose. That purpose... was to hurt Sonic." Tails said to them.

Blake glared at him and said through his teeth in a low voice, "Shut up and know your place freak." He poked him hard.

"Back off Blake." I growled. I got in between him and Tails.

We glared at each other. He took a deep breath and brought back a smile. "No matter, just throwing a ball isn't enough to say that I bully you." He started to walk inside but stopped in front of the glass door and turned his head towards us.

"I warn you, little nerds, if you want to survive this year, kick Sonic the Hedgehog to the curb." He smirked.

Just when he was about to open the door, "Not a chance." He stopped, slowly turned around and looked at Will.

"What did you just say?" Blake asked, not even angrily, just shocked.

"Oh, pardon me if you could not hear me but I believe I said not a chance."

I smiled feeling proud. Will… the most reluctant one of even giving me a chance in first place… was standing up for me… standing up to Blake.

Blake got in Will's face. "Listen here –"

"No, you listen." We all looked at Rocky. "Sonic's our friend and friends stick together. You can't tear us apart, no matter what you throw at us." _Both figuratively and literally. _I thought.

"Yeah, and who are you to tell us what to do Blake? You might be the principal's son, but that doesn't mean you can tell us who we can and can't be friends with." Melody said.

He looked at them and just shook his head from side to side slowly with this shocked look on his face. "Hah, you're all insane."

"No." Then we all looked at Tails. "Just some kids that are giving Sonic…" He paused and then looked at me. He smiled and said, "A long awaited second chance." I laughed half heartedly. I looked from Tails to the rest of the gang. They all had these smiles… with determined faces. I smiled back.

The bell rang then.

"Let's get to class."


	24. Chapter 24

**Yeah, I'm sorry for the wait. Things have been a bit nutty around here. But know this, I won't post anything on weekends, just week days. **

**Things are starting to heat up for Sonic and I can't wait to see where this story takes me.**

**Enjoy if you please. **

* * *

><p>Sonic's POV<p>

We walked through the hall with our heads held high. The teachers and students all looked at us funny but eventually the teachers looked… proud. Our past teachers know I'm a good kid, I just needed a second chance. Outside our homeroom was a cat. She was orange with some black spots. She had to be the new teacher that I heard rumors about last year. I sure enough have never seen her before and she looked awfully young, like just out of college. We took our seats in a corner in the front. We think better with the teacher in front of us. As our classmates filed in, they looked at us funny. It was like they had conflicting feelings.

"This may get terribly uncomfortable." Will stated.

"You said it William." Rocky agreed.

"Well, at least we won't be receiving death glares." I looked at the rest of my classmates falling in. "I think they're just confused."

"Sounds about right, I mean, we did just make Blake look like a total fool in front of the entire middle school." Melody said.

"And boy did it feel good." I said. "If only it were that easy." I sighed.

"No worries Sonic." Tails told me. I looked at him. "We'll look at the security tapes at lunch. We can prove he did it."

"Sure, but one baseball isn't going to prove that this is a long term problem."

"So, what do you suggest?" Melody asked.

I sighed. "I hate to say this, but we're going to have to let him bully as much as wants."

"What!"

"Think about it, if we can record everything he does or connect it to him. At the end of the day, the principal can't deny multiple instances of torment."

"You mean just walk into everything he does?" Tails asked.

"Well, not if it will end with one of us badly injured. I mean if he places a bucket of water over the door, you'll only get wet. But if there are any blades of any kind involved well…" We looked at Tails. He tucked his Tails under his seat. "Sorry little buddy."

"I'm okay." He mumbled.

We heard some clapping. "All right, good morning children, I am Ms. Blur and I will be your homeroom and English teacher this year." Well someone sure seems perky this morning. Good thing is, her voice isn't annoying and she's not too perky. I'd probably kill myself otherwise.

While she talked about herself, I could feel someone trying to burn a hole into the back of my head. I turned around to see Blake fuming and glaring at me. That guy seriously needs to chill. His pals looked like they were talking to him… likely to convince him that he's better than me and that he'll think of a way to get me back. I faced forward and smirked. _I'm counting on it. _Come on Blake, the more stunts the better for my case. He's going down.

The bell rang and we all made our way to Algebra. Around here, we don't get our own schedules, we just rotate from room to room. There aren't a lot of us so it's less of a hassle to just move us with our respected classes. Homeroom, which doubles as one of our classes is where we actually keep our stuff since lockers can only be used for our jackets, to store a project or something like that. Seems like less of a hassle for us personally.

At lunch, I got up to buy some juice from a vending machine while the others unpacked their lunches. As I waited I felt some one tap my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder. "Hey there Knux."

"Hey, nice show you put on this morning." The kid in front of me left.

I chuckled. "Thanks. It's a win, a small one, but a win nevertheless."

"Yeah the whole school is talking about it, well except the teachers."

"I don't think any of the teachers were out there to begin with." I slipped the money into the slot. "Not to mention that the principal may not appreciate his employees talking about his son." I punched the button.

"Right."

"You got anything for me?" I grabbed the juice.

"Nothing on Blake, but kids either believe you or think you're just jealous."

I opened the can. "What the hell?" I just looked at him not believing what he said. How the hell do they think that I'm jealous of that Dog?

"Relax Sonic. If me or Rouge hear anything we'll message you guys as promised."

"Thanks Knuckles. Now I really should get back to the gang before anyone grows suspicious."

"See ya."

"Bye."

I walked back to the table.

"I am telling you, this might go faster if we just attach a recorder to Sonic and trick Blake into confessing." Melody said.

"What?" I asked wondering what they were saying while I was gone.

"Tails has a few old recorders and maybe, if we can get Blake to confess, we'll have him."

I smiled. "Nice thinking Melody, but we may have trouble convincing his dad he confessed on his own accord. Blake is just going to deny it, so we still need proof from whatever it is he has in stored for us."

"Hmm…"

"What are thinking Tails?' Rocky asked.

"I'm thinking that we can broadcast the confession to the whole school with just a bit of rewiring and can have some video footage of the whole thing."

"Nice work Tails." I said.

"We would certainly have him then." Will said.

"Especially if Mr. Folly saw and heard the whole thing happening while it happened." Tails smirked.

"You sure you can pull that off Tails?" Melody asked.

"Not me, we." He smiled. "We can pull it off. Just need the right time to spring our little trap."

"Don't look now, but I think Blake may be plotting something." Rocky said. We turned around and looked into Blake's direction. He glared at me and was writing something down with a pen. I then looked around. Some kids were looking at us… and then kept their eyes moving from our table to Blake's table.

"Please tell me that I'm not the only one kind of freaked out by the stares people are giving us." Melody said.

"Staring gives you no harm technically… one of the reasons why convicting a stalker of wrong doing is hard."

I looked at them while they looked at me funny.

"What? I gotta know the rule book to do my job." They shared a look.

"Let's just eat and then head on over to the computer lab." Tails suggested.

We ate while trying to keep the whole get Blake back for everything he's done topic out of our minds. After we ate, we made our way to the computer lab which was in the strip that connects the middle school building with the elementary school building. Mr. Lobo, our computer teacher, was at his desk. He was a black wolf, a young guy really. He was hired fresh out of college three years ago.

"Hey Mr. Lobo."Tails said.

He looked up from his laptop. "Hello Tails, Melody, Rocky, William and… Sonic?" He looked at me funny. I wasn't sure if he said my name like a question because he wasn't sure if that was my name or if he was confused as to why I suddenly had pals. Most likely, the second thing

"Yeah, kind of made some friends over the summer."

He smiled. "I'm glad. And I'm very proud of you youngsters for giving Sonic a chance." He got out of his seat. "Now what can I do you for?"

"We were hoping you could let us look at the security camera footage." Tails said.

"What for?"

"Um…"

"Listen, Mr. Lobo, I know I'm not exactly the most beloved student but believe me when I say that I'm innocent of anything I supposedly have done." I said.

"Well I never said you were guilty."

"But you never said anything either."

"True, but I couldn't really voice an opinion."

"I know, Blake can cover up his tracks pretty easily being the principal' son and all. But listen, I can prove that Blake has been bullying me and the first step is to prove he threw that baseball at my head on purpose this morning."

"He threw a baseball at you?"

"Yeah, this is the first of many things he's going to do to me this year, I need those cameras to prove once and for all that Blake Folly is nothing but a fake and a bully."

"I admire your enthusiasm and determination Sonic so how about I give you all full access to the cameras and any past footage."

"Wha? Really?" I asked.

He nodded.

"This is perfect."

"Awesome."

"Thanks Mr. Lobo."

"The wretch will not stand a chance."

"I never thought I'd see a day when someone actually had an interest in those cameras." Mr. Lobo said.

He had a point. This school doesn't take a lot of security measures. Nothing ever happened around here. The security guards don't really do their jobs and there aren't many of them. Those cameras were placed in when the school first opened up… when Ma was a kid. Nothing happens so no one ever bothers looking at them and to save on money, the school has paid past computer teachers to keep an eye on those cameras so now Mr. Lobo is in charge of them. Most of the trouble around here is because of Blake framing me. And since he can pretty much just say it was me, I'm headed to detention that day. Others get themselves into trouble for cheating or something like that. We have our share of trouble makers just like any other school, we're just more privileged.

"Come on, follow me." Mr. Lobo said. We followed him to the back of the room where a door was covered with a poster. He took out his keys, opened the door and let us in.

There was a control panel and screens popped out from the wall. A chair was at the controls and Tails plopped himself on it. "All right, let's have a look see."

"I think there's a manual for it here somewhere." Mr. Lobo said.

"No need." I told him.

"Hm?"

"Come on Mr. Lobo, take a look." Melody urged. He came behind us.

"I already found what we were looking for." Tails said. We watched the footage play backwards from this morning and then Tails let it play forward at normal speed. I watched Blake come up to his buddies. They point me out. Blake looked angry, clenched his teeth, and took out his baseball from his bag. He aimed and threw it at my head.

"Why I'll be." Mr. Lobo said. He looked at me.

"Like I said sir, he's a fake." I told him.

"But why is he out to get you in the first place?"

"He… has problems… attention problems."

"I see…" He wasn't exactly sure of what I meant but I knew he had some sort of idea.

I had to work this out with Doc before I can use it as evidence for motive.

"Mr. Lobo? You still have old footage around here right?" Rocky asked.

"I do. It's in that room." He pointed to another door beside the controls. "It's always open."

"Great, we can prove past instances too."

A thought came to me. "That footage, is some of it from the elementary school building?"

"Of course. We have cameras there too."

I looked at Tails and so did the rest of us… except for Mr. Lobo who looked confused at me.

"There's a camera set outside the gym right?" Tails asked sounding monotone. Kind of scared me actually. He didn't look back us.

"Yes, two facing the entrance. Why?"

"Blake did something very terrible to Tails." Melody said.

Mr. Lobo was taken back by what she said. He looked at Tails as did the rest of us. We stared at Tails. He stared at the paused footage with Blake's face blown up on one of the screens. Then, he said something I never thought I'd ever hear come from his mouth.

"That bastard is going down."


	25. Chapter 25

Sonic's POV

End of the day. The last bell rang and we let our classmates leave before we even got up. It was kind of funny to see them kind of just huddle up at the door waiting to leave. We got up and started walking out.

"I'm going to head to the computer lab, maybe start organizing that footage." Tails announced. "Can anyone hang back for a bit?"

"I can Tails. My mom won't be here for a while." Melody told him.

"Great. There's a lot of organizing that needs to be done."

"That's for sure." Rocky said. "That closet looked terrible, it was like walking in a tomb."

"Only you would say that." I told him.

"Hey, it's me." he replied.

We all had a laugh. We decided to walk Tails and Melody to the computer lab before Will, Rocky and I leave.

Tails walked into the computer lab and said, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye." Melody said before she planted one on Rocky's cheek and closed the door to the computer lab behind her.

Rocky stood there in a daze while Will and I shared a knowing look. When Rocky turned back and looked at us, he said, "Shut up." Then he started to walk away.

"We didn't say anything." I told him while Will and I caught up with him.

"Didn't have to."

"Of course." Will said.

"Exactly, what's going on between you two anyway?" I said.

He sighed and I saw a blush creeping on his face.

"Nevermind."

Rocky looked at me with a weird look.

"Relax Rocky, there was no harm done."

"Well – I mean, I guess. Argh!" He looked at us both. He sighed. "Well, at least there's no shame in it."

"There you go." I told him and ruffled his hair like my brother does to my quills.

"Hey!"

I laughed while he fixed his hair.

We made it outside the building and Rocky got his hat out from his bag. "Much better." He sighed.

"Do you really need a hat to relax?" We continued walking, going down the stairs real slow-like.

"Hey, this hat was passed down to me from my grandpa. It really means a lot to me."

"Did your grandpa give you that fedora you gave me?"

"No, that was a birthday present. I don't think I ever wore it. Not a lot of archeologists wear those."

"So you handed it to me because…"

"Sonic, a lot of detectives, particularly private detectives, depicted in movies and TV, wear fedoras." Will stated.

"Oh, really?"

They each gave me a nod.

"Well this is news to me." I told them giving them both an annoyed look.

"I believe the fedora became rather apparent decades ago." Will said.

We stopped at the end of the stairs

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow." I sped right out of there before they could say anything and headed for the playground near the elementary school building. I ran around the playground a few times before I spotted Amy standing by the swings with her bag in her hands. I smiled, took her in my arms and ran for home. I ran until I reached her porch. I looked down at Amy and saw that her eyes were closed and had one of her hands covering her mouth.

I laughed and told her, "Amy… you can open your eyes now."

She opened one eye and looked around. Then she opened her other eyes and took her hand away from her mouth.

"Sorry Amy." I said, knowing that she got scared. I don't really blame her.

"It's okay Sonic, but mind slowing down next time. I think you might have bruised my shoulder."

"Oh, sorry, I'll make sure to slow down next time." I placed her down.

"Thank you. Now let's get inside." We walked in and Amy called out, "Mama… I'm home, and Sonic's here too." We took off our shoes.

Mrs. Rose came out of the kitchen. "Oh, hey you two. How was school?"

"It was… school." Amy said. Mrs. Rose smiled.

"Of course. You two want a snack? I have some cereal treats in the oven."

"Umm…" Amy and I looked at each other. We shrugged. "I guess Mama."

"All right, why don't you two go into the living room and put on the movie okay?"

"Okay. Come on Sonic." I followed Amy into their living room. There was a low table and a widescreen in front of it. There were three bean bags chairs behind the table. I told Amy she should pick this time. Last time I picked something we both couldn't really sleep for a while. As Amy looked through the DVDs I planted myself on a bean bag chair. "Say Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened with Blake today?"

I just looked at her with her back to me shocked. How does news like this travel all the way to the elementary building that fast? "Oh, um, it was nothing Amy."

"Sonic." She looked back at me with this knowing look. So I went on explaining to her what happened while she set up the movie. "Are you sure your head is okay?" She said with this worried look. She was already sitting next to me on another bean bag chair.

I smiled. "Yeah, no worries. I've been through worst, remember?"

"I know Sonic, but still..."

I smirked and kissed her nose. "I'm fine Amy." She smiled at me. "So, how was your day?"

She then got a weird look on her face.

"Amy?" I grew worried and then a bit angry. If any of them hurt Amy they'll be sorry. No one hurts Amy and gets away with it.

"It was… weird." She had this look like she wasn't sure if weird was the word she should use.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I mean… it was like an interrogation but it wasn't. At recess the kids surrounded me and Cream and then just started to ask me questions."

"What kinds of questions?"

"Normal ones." She sounded surprised. "You know, what school did I go to before the transfer, where I live all that jazz. It's just the surrounding that freaked me out. Oh, oh, and and they all had this blank look like they were robots or something."

I listened to what she said. "That _is_ weird."

"You see, Cream thought it was just a nervous thing with them, but…" She had this uncomfortable look on her face.

"Actually…" I thought about it. "…maybe it is."

"What?" Amy looked at me funny.

"No, no think about it Amy. Blake has influence over the whole school, everyone is on the look-out for anything suspicious or weird. They probably just wanted to make sure you were an okay person."

"Well, they didn't have to surround us like that. It was scary."

I looked at Amy with a gentle smile and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay Amy. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." And I sure as hell was going to keep that promise. Amy means a lot to me and I hate seeing her cry or hurt. I'll protect her no matter what.

Amy hugged me back. "Thanks Sonic." She nuzzled her head into my neck. When we pulled back she gave me a quick kiss. I just smiled goofily.


	26. Chapter 26

Sonic's POV

"You sure you want to go through with it?" Melody asked Rocky with worried eyes.

Rocky smiled weakly at her and placed his hand over hers. "I'll be fine. It'll only last a few seconds, and technically no harm done." He wasn't so sure about this as we were.

Here's the deal: yesterday, I got a tip from Knuckles that Blake was planning to do the whole water fountain spray your pants with water thing. Only one of us uses that water fountain at lunchtime, and normally around the same time. Rocky was his target. Who would've thought that a water bottle would help make you the next victim? Looks like he's starting small too, just an annoyance. He's playing it safe and for good reason. Small stuff like this can just be thrown over the shoulder and can actually just be tossed as an accident. Well, small or not, anything we can pin on him can be used to build the case. Tails even went to the computer lab right when the bell rang to make sure the whole thing was caught clearly.

He'll start small, but knowing him, he'll just let it build. As much as I hate this, we're all going to have to stick it out to let Blake get comfortable enough to do something big. That's when we'll have him. His ego won't be able to resist sitting ducks like us… or at least that's what we want him to believe. Either way, that kid's ego will bring him down. Once we get the right tip, he's going down.

"Besides, I brought extra pants, and if I don't he might get suspicious." Rocky kept telling her. He was trying to be strong, and frankly, he wasn't doing a bad job. Kid's brave since he's going to go through humiliation in front of our whole graduating class for me. This was all because of me. A part of me still wants to blame myself for all the trouble that I'm going to cause them, but then that argument that Tails always uses pops into my head.

"_We volunteered for this Sonic, and we're not backing out."_

I heard Melody sigh and say, "Okay, if you say so." He smiled and kissed his girlfriend before getting up, water bottle in hand, and off to the water fountain. When he got up, I remembered a beagle who was scared to even go near me, now he's my friend and about to go through some embarrassment because of me. I got that proud feeling again from the first day of school. We've come so far in so little time.

I sighed as he flicked the little thing and well… the rest is history. All it took was one passerby and it started. In just a few seconds the whole cafeteria was laughing. He ran towards the exit and waited there for Melody to bring him his bag. Just like I thought, it passed in a few minutes. But something tells me he won't hear the end of it for the rest of the day… and possibly Monday. I mean this joke gets old really fast. I say Monday just to be safe on the whole thing. It doesn't take a detective to know that children can be very cruel.

"He is a brave soldier." Will said.

I sighed. "Yeah, well, anyone who would be a friend of mine is pretty brave from the start."

"Or a complete optimist."

We had ourselves small laugh.

"Will you stick around today Sonic?"

I shook my head. "I can't, my family and I are going to get together with Amy's family for dinner at the restaurant Amy's mom works at."

"Do you mean her mother who is a hedgehog or her mother who is a cat?"

"The one that's a hedgehog."

"Ah, what are you celebrating?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, a birthday or is it just a treat?"

"Oh, my family always goes out to dinner the Friday of the first week of school. Kind of a nice way to tell us, one week down, a heck of a lot more to go."

I managed to get a small laugh out of him.

"Sounds delightful."

"Hey, are you staying?"

"I'm afraid not, I have to go to my sister's piano recital."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

"We… don't really talk."

"What do you mean?"

He sighs. "She's my half sister, and well… we don't really get along."

"Oh." What else could I say? I seriously did not see this coming. I had no idea he came from a broken home. I looked at him. I have never seen Will look so… sad and helpless. It scared me a little.

Then I heard steps coming towards us. We looked up to see Melody and Rocky taking their seats. "Well, that wasn't so bad." Rocky said. Melody gave him a kiss on his cheek. I smirked at them.

"You took one for the team Rocky, be proud."

He smiled at me and said, "Thanks. I'm just glad to be done with it."

We heard some steps… fast steps coming towards us. We turned to find Tails coming. He had this weird urgent thing going on with his face. Once he reached us he had his hands on his knees and was panting. The poor guy. "Richard… not Blake…" he coughed.

Rocky patted Tails on his back.

"Easy, there Tails… sit down." While still huffing he took his seat next to me. He took a few minutes to catch his breath.

Once he did he said, "It was Richard who tampered with the fountain."

"What!?" We all exclaimed.

Ultimately, I shouldn't have been surprised. What's the point of having goons if you can't have them do your dirty work? Richard is the squirrel who hangs around Blake. Kid's an honor student, not quiet up to us when it comes to ranks, but up there nonetheless. He's good with his hands and I have a feeling he's the one who did that photo of me and Blake's sister. He might not be Blake, but he's just as much guilty as Blake is.

"Yup, Blake was nowhere near that fountain."

"But we should still be able to use it." I said. They looked at me and I got the hint to go on. "It might not be Blake, but maybe we can point Blake as the mastermind of everything we catch those two doing to us."

"But how?" Melody asked.

"A confession."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Will asked.

"I've got just the thing." Tails said suddenly, the enthusiasm back in his voice. "Come on." He got up and headed out of the lunch room. We all shared a look before going ahead and following our two tailed buddy. We ended up back at the computer lab. We all said hi to Mr. Lobo and then we went into the surveillance room. Tails took something off the controls and walked towards this cabinet with a weird looking device inside it. "Ta-da."

We shared a confused look before looking back at Tails. "What is it?"

"Something that's going to help us." There was a silence… you know, the one where you feel completely lost. Tails sighed. "All we have to do is attach this little mic to one of us, turn this thing on and it records the whole thing."

"Oh…"

We gave Tails some words of praise before I asked, "We can use this to help broadcast the big one right?"

"Um, sure… need a bit of rewiring to get it through the PA system, but yeah."

"Perfect…" I looked at everyone. "Everything is coming together."

"And all in one week." Rocky said.

"Now, all we have to do is wait for the right time."I said. The bell rang then and so we walked to class.

Problem was when we got there, Blake and his friends did too.

I heard him laughing and even though it was a small thing that they did, I couldn't help but want to just pound him. Every time I see him happy, I just want to hit him. His happiness comes at the cost of someone else's feelings. And it wasn't just mine this time. It's also the feelings of my friends.

"That was great, he had no idea it was coming." I heard him say. Then he saw us. I folded my hands over my chest and we all just stood there letting the tension build in the air. "Well, look who's here."

"It's our next class, why wouldn't we be here?" I growled at him.

"That's why." He pointed at my muzzle. "A complete animal like you doesn't belong here."

"Last I checked I wasn't the one who got loose from his leash." His friends took a shock to it. Blake cringed but gained his posture back in a few seconds.

"Very funny little piglet." His friends started to make oink sounds.

"Ever thought of getting your mutts some muzzles." They stopped immediately looking at me with complete shock. "Speaking of which, which one of you is responsible for that little display?"

Blake faked being shock and hurt. "What? You're accusing one of my own dear friends."

"Save it Dog, which one was it?"

"Richard, but does it matter?"

"Someone had to have tampered with the fountain to do that, and whoever did is just asking for trouble."

"So what? Even if I told you it was me, who would believe you?" Richard said. We all looked at him.

We all stayed silent.

"That's what I thought." He said with a smirk.

"But if you so desperately want a confession, fine." Blake told us, toying with us. "Yes, I told Richard to mess with the water fountain to make it squirt water at Rocky's pants when he went up to use that water fountain. And may I say that it went very well." He was about to open the door to walk into the classroom, but he wasn't finished, "I hope you're satisfied." Then they walked in.

That day, Tails and Rocky were hanging back to go through some footage. It's going to be a while to even sort through that stuff let alone find what we can use. But at least we'll have him by graduation.

Well, enough of that. It's Friday and I get to have dinner with Amy.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I can't update as mush as I would like to, but it always brings me a smile everytime I post an update. This one brings the second of the few incidents to come to Sonic and his friends. I hope you all enjoyed it. <strong>

**To a guest reviewer, whoever you are... that was my intention the whole time. I've seen what bullying can do... I suppose this work is my way of gaining a bit more closure for the whole thing. **


	27. Chapter 27

Sonic's POV

I made it home after dropping Amy off at her house. On the couch was Shadow… bandaging himself?

"Bro?" I asked as I set my bag down.

"Oh, hey Sonic." He looked up at me and then continued bandaging himself around his arm. I noticed there was another patch up around his leg. I walked towards him and then noticed a scar near his eye.

"What happened?"

"Oh, just an initiation slash prank gone wrong. I'm fine."

I just stared at him at first shocked but then just eyeing him hoping he'd come out with more.

"It's nothing to worry about Sonic… I promise I didn't do anything, I was just caught in the fire."

"Fire!"

He sighed. "Okay, there _was _fire involved but not a lot of it. Just a few burns. I'm okay little brother." He finished patching himself up and picked up the first aid kit to put it away in the bathroom. He stopped in front of me and ruffled my quills a little. He sort of smiled sort of smirked at me. "Besides it's my job to worry about you Sonic not the other way around." He started to walk away but I kept on him.

"Not when my brother could seriously be in trouble or injured." I followed him into the bathroom.

"It was nothing I couldn't handle besides, you know as well I do that I've been through worse."

"Still… you're my brother and brothers are supposed to look out for each other. It doesn't matter the age that's just what brothers do." He looked back at me after placing the first aid kit in the cabinet. I gave him this look that I wasn't sure if I was trying to be cute or pathetic. Hey, my voice already sounds funny...

He sighed. "Look, some girls got jealous of Maria and tried to scare her with some fire. Went seriously wrong and I pulled them out of it. No big deal."

"No big deal… I thought kids at your school would be less stupid. Sheesh."

"Yeah, I thought so too." He shrugged.

"Are they okay?"

"Yeah, everyone's okay." He grabbed onto my shoulder and we walked out of the bathroom. "No worries Sonic."

"Well, why were they jealous?"

He sighed. "Her looks, you remember, she turns heads wherever she goes. Those girls were just being stupid and paranoid that they're boyfriends are cheating on them with her." He smirked then. "I bet the Great Detective Sonic can figure the rest out."

"Yeah. I think I got it." He smiled sadly at me as we made our way back to the living room.

Maria was always a knock out, but just because she's pretty doesn't make her some kind of slut. I swear girls can be so crazy and self conscience. It's a wonder marriages happen.

We heard the door slam shut. "Shadow! Shadow!" We heard Ma yell out.

"Ma!" We called out back to her. We walked towards the door while she ran towards us tossing her purse and keys down.

She hugged Shadow and started to cry. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay." She started to sob and mumbled stuff that I honestly wasn't sure was a proper language.

"Ma… It's okay, I'm okay." He rubbed her back. He looked at me confused. I just shrugged.

She let Shadow go and rubbed her eyes. "You…"

"I'm okay, I promise. A few burns but that's it."

She looked at him and then touched his bandaged arm. "Did you–"

"–Yeah, I did. Relax Ma, I've seen you do it dozens of times."

She gave him a worried look and gave him one last hug. "My little boy."

"Ma!" I couldn't help but giggled. Shadow bonked me on my head.

"Ow!"

"Shut up!"

"Oh, both of you stop it." Ma told us. She sniffled a little. She looked at Shadow. "You need to rest. Go to the couch or your room."

I heard Shadow sigh. "Okay."

I watched as he left for his room.

"Sonic?"

"Yes."

"Keep an eye on him. I'll be back in a few hours."

"On it." I told her before she headed out.

"Hey Sonic. Hey Shadow. Hey Ms. Hedgehog." Amy said when opened the door.

We greeted her back.

"Good evening everyone." Amy's mom said.

"Hi Sharon." Ma said. Her name is Sharon? Huh? I guess I never bothered to ask… or I wasn't paying attention.

Amy stepped out and pecked my cheek. I blushed while I heard everyone responding with an "Aww…" I noticed a blush on Amy too through her cheeky smile. Then I noticed she was wearing a white dress. Funny, Amy's normally so colorful. Then again, somehow Ma managed to get me into a blazer and dress pants. I wasn't so sure if this was going to be a casual dinner that I thought it would be. This was going to be a long night. We hopped into Mrs. Rose's van and drove to Mrs. Hedgehog's workplace.

I stared out the window for a bit before Amy asked "Who do you think is next?"

I had told her about the whole scene today with Rocky. I sighed and shrugged in defeat. "I don't know, I don't have much to go on. And I don't think evil masterminds care about the order as long as they get their point across."

Amy giggled a little. "I wouldn't call him a mastermind."

I smiled. "Well, he's not an accomplice either."

"But he's not that smart."

"Not when it comes to school work anyway. But somehow, when he's out for revenge it all comes easy."

"It's like he was born a bad guy or something… That makes you the hero." She pointed at me.

"Me?" I asked.

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You're out to bring him to justice so to speak right?"

"Well… I guess I am." I was at least getting him to pay with the help of the system for what he did and what he will do.

"You see?"

"But that doesn't mean I'm some kind of hero. If anything, some people might still hate me when we bring him down." His soul supporters won't hesitate in finishing the job he started. I don't know how it is that kid has so much control but it's a big obstacle we have to deal with.

"So? You're doing the right thing Sonic. Blake deserves whatever punishment he'll get. That's what makes you a hero. You're not getting him back by acting like him, that would just make you a bully too. That's why you're a hero." She took my hand and squeezed it. "You're my hero Sonic."

I looked at her and took it all in. She's right, in a way, I am a hero. Putting the bad guy where he belongs; serving time. I'm not getting revenge, just letting Blake dig himself into a deep hole. Thinking about it makes me feel more and more like a cop undercover or something. I guess this'll be good to put on my résumé when I can join the force… or maybe I'll be a PI. Still figuring that out.

"I guess you're right Amy." I told her.

"Am I ever wrong?" She batted her eyes at me.

"Don't push it."

She pouted in this kind of playing with me kind of way. I just have her smirk and cocked my eyebrow.

"We're here." Mrs. Hedgehog announced.

"Yay!" Amy. We stepped out and I took a look at the outside of the place. Now I see why Ma was so insisting on the blazer and dress pants. The place looked more like a museum from the outside rather than a restaurant. Amy took my hand and led me inside. The others followed us.

I heard Mrs. Rose say, "They look so cute together. I can hardly stand it." I blushed hearing that. But I smiled too.

Inside, I saw Mrs. Rose already at our table. She waved us over and we all took our seats. I saw Amy's moms sneak a peck between each other. I smirked. Weird to see but you can't help but let it warm your heart when you see them together like this. They've been through a lot. Course they never said anything about it, but you didn't need to be a detective to know at least that much. If I'm bullied by this maniac then I'm sure people gave Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Rose a hard time for going against the whole natural order thing. People are still flat out against it.

They first asked about the scar on Shadow's face and he explained to them what happened.

Ma asked, "Maria's back in town?" she smiled and had this hopeful look on her face.

Shadow sighed. "Yes, she transferred in this year."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ma asked.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Who's Maria?" Amy asked.

"She was Shadow's girlfriend."

"What happened?"

I sighed. "My brother was an idiot."

"He did something that hurt her really bad didn't he?"

I nodded.

"Did he… did he cheat on her?" Again… why does Amy keep surprising me like this? First the bully thing then the cop and now this. What's next? STDs… I really hope not.

"Well… yeah. How did…"

"Lucky guess." She had this sad smile and shrugged. "And maybe I watch too many soap operas with Mama and Mommy." She gave me a guilty smile.

I laughed a little. "That might have a lot to do with it sure."

"Elizabeth?" I heard someone say Ma's name. I looked up and saw this guy. He was a hedgehog. He was grey with his quills slicked back like mine. What I found a little odd was that he had a tuff of hair on his head that was black. You don't see a hedgehog with hair every day.

Ma looked behind her. "Ryan, hi." She got up and gave him a hug. He returned it. I got this funny feeling in my stomach.

Just who is this guy anyway? Then it hit me. He's got to be that doctor. I sure enough never heard the name Ryan before, but I did hear Ma gossip about a new doctor not too long ago. He's definitely not a fresh face. From the looks of him he seems to be Ma's age… maybe a little younger. Question is… what is he doing here?

"I thought that was you." Ryan said to Ma when she let him go. He looked at her up and down. "You look lovely."

"Thank you." Is it me, or did Ma's face look a little redder? And it wasn't just her either. This Ryan guy was definitely blushing too.

"You clean up rather nicely too."

He had this sort of light chuckle and said, "Thanks."

They kind of just stared at each other and no one said anything.

"Ma?" I couldn't stand it anymore. I gave them my innocent face.

"Oh right. Ryan, these are my sons, Sonic and Shadow." We gave each other a look and then nodded at the guy.

"Hello boys." He gave a slight wave.

"These are our neighbors." She looked toward the Roses. "Sharon and Lily. And this is their daughter Amy." Amy gave him a nervous smile.

Ryan had this funny look on his face, then shrugged and smiled at the couple. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Lily said.

"H-hey Ryan." Another guy came up behind him. He was a bear and boy was he big. He held Ryan in a choke hold kind of. "We're in the back."

Ryan kept a smile… sort of. "I'll be there in a bit."

The bear let him go, but not before he could check my mom out. I got that weird feeling in my stomach again. "Who's this?"

"Um, Harold, this is one of my colleagues and friend Elizabeth along with her sons and neighbors. Elizabeth, and guests, this is Harold, my old college roommate." He didn't look at us, he looked from my mom to Ryan a few times. "Harold, why don't you head on back, I'll follow you in a minute."

Harold smirked. "Whatever you say Ryan." He went off to who knows where.

"Sorry about that, he was always on the… wild side."

"Oh, no that's all right. He kind of reminds me of an old classmate." She giggled. Okay, this is getting weird.

"Well I better head on towards the back." He gave her a nervous smile.

"Okay."

"It was nice meeting you all." He said to all of us. We all pretty much said the same thing back to him. "I'll see you Monday Elizabeth."

"Of course, bye Ryan."

"Bye." He left. I watched him as he walked away. It wasn't long before he took a look back.

When I turned back in my seat, Mrs. and Mrs. Rose were asking Ma, "Anything you'd like to say Elizabeth?"

"There's nothing going on, I swear." I'd beg to differ. They egged Ma on the whole thing. Amy, Shadow and I listened.

I was right. Ryan is a new doctor. A new pediatrician actually. Ma kept saying how there isn't anything there, but from those blushes and smiles we all knew that wasn't the case. He doesn't seem like a bad guy. I think he's a nice enough guy. At least it didn't look like he was undressing my Ma with his eyes. That bear needs to have someone keep an eye on him. From what I can see, Ryan seems nice and open as well as calm and collective. For now, that's all I've got, but if my hunch is correct, this won't be the last we'll see of him.

After Ma had enough, we kept off the topic… well the adults did. On the way home Amy asked, "Did your mom ever date again after your parents divorced?"

That was possibly the nicest way of putting it. That bastard didn't deserve to be married to my mother in the first place. "No, then again, I don't think she ever had any interest in any guy since then."

"Really?" she asked looking kind of worried.

"Really. And I'm not too sure about this whole thing with this Ryan guy."

"Why?"

"I don't know much about this guy."

"Isn't your mom supposed to be the one to get to know him first and then she brings him home?"

"Well…" Okay she had me. Technically that's how it works.

Amy smirked. "Come on Sonic, maybe Ryan can make your mom really happy." She nudged me.

"Maybe… but there's no guarantee."

"Well, even if it doesn't work out, at least she tried. You can't go through life with so many regrets." I looked at Amy. Again, she expresses knowledge I had no clue she had.

I smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "You're right… again." I rolled my eyes.

Amy giggled.

When I got back to my room, I noticed that I left my phone on my dresser. It was blinking green. I picked it up and saw a text from Tails. I texted him back and set my phone down so that I could change out of my clothes. I took my phone back when I was done. As it turns out, we got our confession after all. When we left for class, Tails had kept the little mic in his tails and had accidently turned on the machine. Second piece of evidence obtained and we're closer to bringing Blake to his knees.

Today, ultimately, was a good day.


	28. Chapter 28

**All right, I've been meaning to touch more upon this side plot after I first mentioned it. Time for some more brotherly advice. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Saturday afternoon, I was reading up on other unsolved cases in the living room. Turns out, my neighborhood has had a history of it. A lot of suspects in many cases lived in my neighborhood, but the only murder here was of Mr. De Bourgh. All these people are gone now and the more I look at them the more I think these cases will never solved. It makes me sick. No one ever deserved to die, and whoever killed them walk free or did walk free before Death came a knocking. Looking closely, it seemed all these cases were connected to drugs or smuggling. _Messy_ _business_.

I heard some ringing. _Must_ _be_ _Amy_. I knew it couldn't have been Tails or the other guys, we planned to meet up at Tails' house today, but there was still some time before that. Ma just stepped out with Amy's moms and Shadow… was resting up. But I could hear him playing his guitar. I started to wonder why she hadn't come earlier but then I remembered that Amy said she'd be at Melody's today and tomorrow. _Then who's at the door?_

I went up to the door and opened it.

"Hello Sonic."

"Maria?" My eyes were wide and my mouth hung open.

"It's good to see you Sonic." She looked just as beautiful as I remembered. She was blonde… quills and fur with blue eyes and a blue dress to match. She had the smile that could make even the strongest of males grow weak.

For a moment, I just stared shocked. I haven't seen or heard from Maria since the whole incident with my brother. "Um, likewise. Won't you come in?"

"Sure, thank you." I stepped aside and let her pass. She asked, "So how have you been?" as she made her way to the living room.

"A heck of a lot better than when you left," I said closing the door and then following her into the living room. "Please sit," I told her.

"Thank you." She sat down but then looked at me funny. "But what do you mean?"

I gave her the strange look back before I remembered what I said. "Oh, I mean, well, I'm better… situated." I sat down next to her.

"So… you have some friends then?" She asked.

"Actually, yes." I smiled at her.

"Oh, that's wonderful Sonic!" She took me in her arms and cuddled me. I blushed as she did.

"Hey, Sonic!" I heard Shadow call out. "Who was at the… door?" Maria let me go and we both looked at my brother who stepped into the living room. For a moment, there was just silence. I looked from my brother to Maria a few times. They were both just staring at each other. I felt awkward just sitting there with my brother's ex-girlfriend and my brother just walked in to find us on the couch… okay I might have made that sound bad when there really wasn't anything going on.

The door bell rang again. They didn't move.

"I'll um, I'll get it." I hopped off the couch and headed for the door. _Who is it now? _I opened the door to find Amy bright eyed with a smile.

"Hey Sonic."

"Hey Amy." I was glad to see her, but I was also curious. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at Melody's."

"I am going to Melody's, but I was hoping we could do something before I go."

"Why didn't you call?"

"I did. Your mom answered and told me you would have some time before going over to Tails' place."

_Then why didn't she tell me? _I thought to myself. I shook my head. "Sure we can Amy." I stepped aside to let her in. "Just have a little something to take care of first." I lead us into the living room.

"What's that?" She asked before we stepped into the living room.

"That," I said, pointing towards Shadow and Maria. They hadn't moved much but I think they were up to awkward small talk. Shadow was still standing while Maria was on the couch.

"I uh, wanted to come by and thank you for yesterday," She said with a voice that reminded me of Amy's when we first met.

"What? That? That was nothing." He moved his hand in that sort of waving gesture.

"It wasn't nothing. Who knows what could have happened to me if you didn't step in like that."

"I'd rather not think about it." I noticed my brother got this queasy look on his face.

"Well, thank you Shadow," she said politely.

"No problem."

I felt Amy tap my shoulder. I turned my head towards her. "Is she Maria?" She whispered.

I nodded.

We watched them for a while as they kind of stared awkwardly at each other.

"She's really pretty," Amy commented.

"Oh, hello." We turned our heads back to the college kids. Maria had stood up and looked at Amy and me. "I'm Maria. What's your name?"

"Amy Rose, Miss."

"It's good to meet you Amy," Maria said with a smile.

"It's good to finally meet you too." There was a bit of silence before Amy spoke up again. "Uh, how's the arm and leg Shadow?"

"Fine. I keep telling you all I'm fine." He sounded annoyed. Then, got this kind of fake cocky look. "Nothing to worry about. I'll be healed in no time."

"Well, you can't blame anyone for being worried," I told him. "Those burns don't lie Shadow. You were burned pretty badly."

"Well…"

"You can't deny it Shadow." I was a little angry at my brother. We worry because we care.

He sighed. "Okay, they didn't really look good and yeah it hurt, but I'm better now. Honest." He looked at all of us one by one.

"How bad do they hurt?" Maria asked worriedly.

"Nothing I can't handle."

Maria got this weird look on her face. "You always did try to make something nothing."

Shadow smiled weakly. "Power of perspective. I've been through worse. You should know that."

Maria nodded. "I do. And that worries me."

"I'm fine. I was fine then and I'm still fine."

"You still womanize," she told him with a stern look.

"What?"

_Oh, geez._ We all looked at Amy who had a curious look on her face. I took a glance at Maria who had her hand over her mouth. "Uh, Amy why don't we leave them to talk?"

I took her hand and started leading her towards the kitchen and out the back door when she asked, "But what does that mean?"

"Nothing."

"Sure doesn't sound like nothing and hey quit tugging so hard!"

"Oh." I stopped and looked at her. "Sorry Amy."

"I'll follow you outside, just don't hurt my arm." She looked from our hands to my face.

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I hope Maria and Shadow can work this out… Whatever it is?" She got a worried look on her face that I matched.

"So do I Amy."

We spent a while at the pond skipping rocks. When Amy left, I noticed that Maria had gone too. Before I made my way over to Tails' place I knocked on my brother's door.

"Come in."

I opened his door and walked in. "Hey bro?"

"Yeah Sonic." He was on his bed with his head leaning up on his pillow with his arms behind his head.

"What happened with Maria?"

He sighed. "I'm… not even sure about that Sonic."

"I'm not asking if she's willing to date you again. I'm asking what happened when I pulled Amy away."

"She's upset."

"I gathered."

"No Sonic. I mean I told her the truth, about the cheating and she left without another word." He brought his hands out and started to rub his face.

I felt bad seeing my brother like this. But he did bring this upon himself and he couldn't change that. He has to deal with the consequences. But that doesn't mean he has to mope around feeling sorry for himself. The Shadow I know wouldn't let this slide. He'd get up and go try to win her over. But I guess he's not the same Shadow he used to be… this one… has more concern over the girl's feelings and well being. This one… is more admirable than my old big brother.

"Shadow, you can't change what happen. But you can at least try to make it up to her."

"How?" He sat up and looked at me. "She probably doesn't want to have anything to do with me now."

"Just give her some time to cool off bro. Then try your old charm."

"Yeah, okay. Except my old charm is what landed me into this mess in the first place." He had this slight annoyed look on his face.

"Well, maybe an apology card might be a good start when she's cooled bro."

"An apology card?" He looked at me as if I suddenly had two heads.

"Well, since you don't think your charm will do the trick, how about mine?"

"Yours?" He still had that look.

"Yeah, it's what I would have done with Amy." Though, I hope that it would never come to that.

"It's different for you though Sonic. You got Amy before you could even consider using girls to deal with the pain."

"So what? Maria is the same to you as Amy is to me, the best thing that's happened to us. I was in pain too ya know and was worried that it would all end badly too."

He just stared at me.

"And you know what? I was going to end it all when school started, but I liked Amy too much to hurt her or to let her go. So I didn't. And I'm happy I didn't. The biggest difference between you and me Shadow is that _I_ wasn't an idiot."

He blinked a few times staring shocked at me. I was a bit shock at myself too, but I was proud to tell him. He had to know that he could've been happy with Maria this whole time. He had to know that I did what he didn't: kept my girl. Sure we're not out of the neck of the woods yet, but now I won't even consider letting Amy go. If Blake finds out then he'd better watch out. I'm not going to let him hurt Amy. He can't scare me anymore. I won't let him get the better of me ever again.

"You're right." I watched Shadow look off into space. "I can't just let Maria go. I made a stupid mistake but I can at least try to fix things."

I smiled at Shadow.

He looked at me and smiled back. "Thanks bro."


	29. Chapter 29

**So, I noticed that we haven't had a session with Doc in a while. Here's another to move things along a little faster.**

**Thanks again for the reviews and for reading.**

**Oh, and I'd like to welcome back my editor. I sort of had him take a vacation. **

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

"Good afternoon, Sonic."

"Hey, Doc," I said as I walked into his office. It was decked out in Halloween decorations. A few paper bats hung from the ceiling. I noticed that witch was slammed to the door thing. There was bowl with candy by the couch.

"Very fitting costume, Sonic." He smiled at me.

I laughed a little. "Yeah, I figured it would be." Although, the Sherlock Holmes costume was all Will's idea. I took off my hat as I made my way back on the couch. I sat down and got onto by back like always. I left my hat on the low table in front of me.

"Any plans for trick or treating Sonic?"

"Yeah, a little. Amy and I will do a bit before we reach Rouge's house for a Halloween party."

"Why am I not surprised?" I noticed Doc rolled his eyes a little with a smile.

I smiled back. "Eh, how could she pass it up?" We laughed.

"Well, it sounds fun. What are your friends going as?"

"Amy's going as a chef. She even got to borrow one of her mom's old hats and cut up an old apron. Tails is going as a computer chip. Cream is a giant cupcake."

"Sounds delicious."

"It looked good too. It looked so real it was crazy." I manage to get a peak of Amy and Cream while in Science class outside the window. They have recess then. The class for some reason is on the far side of the building closest to the elementary school.

"Sounds like Cream put a lot of effort into it."

"She had to. Part of the party is to see who has the best costume. Anyway, Knuckles' well…he isn't going as anything."

"Doesn't surprise me," Doc said while looking up into space.

"None of us were, but you know, it kind of kills the Halloween spirit a little. Who knows how long we can keep this up?"

"Well, if you're lucky, maybe into your high school and even college years."

"Plus it's fun. You know?"

"Of course. I always loved Halloween as a boy."

"At least everyone else dressed up. Rouge is going as a spy and Melody dressed up as a… I think she said a Pink Lady."

"Pink Lady?" He had on the same face I had on earlier today when she told us.

"Something to do with a musical. An old one."

"Oh."

"Well anyway," I said with a wave of my hand. "Rocky is going as Indiana Jones." I laughed remembering what we talked Will into going as. "Will is…" I giggled. "He's William Shakespeare."

"Oh my." He tried holding in a laugh. I did say try. We laughed for a bit.

"It was so worth putting on this Sherlock Holmes costume to see him in such a weird looking collar."

"The poor boy," Doc said wiping away a tear.

"Aw it was good fun Doc. He didn't mind…" I thought about what else happened today though.

"Is something wrong Sonic?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked over at Doc who had a worried expression his face.

"Well… it's Blake." I groaned.

"What was his idea this time?"

"Today, he got a little braver."

* * *

><p>We were headed to our lockers in the afternoon to grab our sweaters. Rouge tipped Melody off two days before that Blake was planning two attacks: one on Melody and one on Will. We expected Melody to be drenched that afternoon with water balloons filled with fruit punch while Will would open his locker to an ink bomb.<p>

"You two ready?" I asked.

I got a nod from them both.

"You don't have to do it," Rocky started. Out of all of us, _he _was the one who had the most trouble with keeping his cool. I really couldn't blame the guy though. His girlfriend was going to be a victim on Halloween… and we knew about it. "We already have the footage."

Tails came in early to make sure the cameras in the hallway caught the whole thing. Again, it wasn't Blake, but we can still get a confession out of those bozos later.

"I told you Rocky, I'm going through with it."

"So am I."

He groaned.

"It's only fair, besides, the principal needs to see that he's doing some kind of harm," she told him.

Rocky sighed. We turned into the hallway that our lockers were in.

"We cannot turn away now," Will said.

"Then let's make it look good," I said. I got a determined look from everyone except Rocky. "Listen man, he'll get what's coming to him. I can promise you that."

He didn't say anything. We just walked along and made it to our lockers in a few seconds. Once when we opened them, _Splat! Splash! Splash!_

We heard Melody scream on our left. When I looked over at Will, he closed his locker slowly to reveal his face had turned blue. He turned to us.

"Melody!" Rocky ran to her. When I looked, she didn't look too good. The good news is she wasn't wearing her real costume. She was clad in black with cat ears and whiskers. I kept looking back and forth as everyone around us laughed. I wondered what to do before our plan came back to me. I took Will by his arm and led him to the boy's bathroom. Tails followed leaving Rocky with Melody. He'd lead her to the girl's bathroom. Rouge would go in when no one would be looking and help Melody get the stickiness out of her feathers.

We led Will to a sink and he started to wash his face. He might have a stain on his face but he can at least keep his eyes from stinging.

I sighed as I leaned against a stall. I got that guilty feeling again.

"Do not worry Sonic, I'm fine." Will wiped his face for a final time. He turned off the sink and turned around to look at Tails and me. "Does it look bad?"

Tails and I cringed a bit.

"Never mind."

* * *

><p>"The little Devil did that?" Doc asked in disbelief.<p>

I nodded and said, "Yeah, the punk is good. I can only imagine that Tails is next."

"You brave young people."

"Brave or stupid." I rolled my eyes. "Either way, it happened, we can't do anything to change it, but we can use it against him. Now, we have to wait and see what he has in mind next."

"Did you manage that confession?"

"We didn't even have to find them. Blake is just so proud of himself he came to us and told us everything. Tails was wired the whole time and with a little help from Mr. Lobo we caught it."

"What did he do?"

"Turned on the machine and mic," I said with a sense of _duh_ in it.

"Oh."

I smiled. "Yup, he's going to regret everything. I just wish they didn't have to put up with him like I have."

"It's amazing how no one said anything."

"When it was just me, no one paid no mind. Now I know people are getting antsy, they're just scared. Accusing the principal's son is almost suicide. And others just don't care. Better we take it from Blake than them. And trust me I don't blame them."

"And how do you feel about that?"

I thought about it while staring at the ceiling. "Like my middle school seems too much like a place nearing the brink of a revolution."

I looked over at Doc who had a funny expression on his face. "Yeah um, History class."

"I just didn't expect for you to put it that way." For some reason Doc seemed to be in his own little world.

"I'm just growing up Doc. There's nothing to worry about."

"I was hoping you would slow down on that just a little."

I groaned. "What's up you adults lately?"

"What do you mean?"

I got this angry and annoyed look on my face. "You know what I mean. Ma's been like this since the beginning of school."

"Oh yes, we did talk about this didn't we?" Doc looked off into space for a moment.

"Yeah, it's starting to get annoying." I folded my arms across my chest. "We all have to grow up sometime. You can't stop it."

"You're very right Sonic, but you have to understand that when get yourself attach to something it's very hard to let it go when it's time."

I sighed and looked back at the ceiling. "Yeah I know. Ma went through a lot to get me where I am. And I appreciate it but she's also got to understand that I won't always need her and someday, I won't have her anymore. The goal of a parent is to prepare their children to face the world without them."

I looked back over at Doc. "Spoken like a true philosopher." He smiled at me. "Did anything else happen this week?"

"Actually… on the way Ma asked me if it was okay for Ryan to have dinner with us on Sunday."

"Oh, boy. I knew this was coming." Doc had this look of exasperation.

"I think we all did Doc."

"So, what did you tell her?"

"That I was fine with it."

"Really now?" Doc sounded more intrigued than surprised. It had kind of creeped me out. Then again, I finally noticed that a giant fake spider was hanging over his head.

"Yeah, she seems really happy as of late. I hear her on the phone at night and she's giggling. She's so perky in the morning now, she doesn't even take coffee with her to work anymore. Not to mention she's gotten a bouquet from the guy already."

"Always the observer," he commented.

"Have to be in my line of work."

"You're not in the work force yet Sonic."

"Oh please. I'm already on my first case." I smirked at him.

He sighed. "We're getting off topic. Now, you seem to be taking this very well."

"Thank Amy. She kind of knocked some sense into me before hand. Besides, who am I to jeopardize Ma's happiness? She deserves a bit of bliss after what my bastard of a father did to us." I sat up with my fists clenched up.

"Let it out Sonic." Doc advised me.

"He was never a father let alone a husband. I'm not even sure if he loved Ma at one point. Or if he was even straight. He took Ma away from everything she ever knew." I punched a pillow. "I couldn't do much then. But now, I'll know if this Ryan is what Ma needs." I calmed down a bit. "I can keep Ma from getting hurt again. She'll believe me if I smell something fishy."

"And that makes you feel better about it?"

"Well, yeah." I sat in a way that had me face Doc. "I want Ma to be happy, but I also want to make sure that her new boyfriend isn't playing some sick game. That's the last thing any of us need right now."

"You're a very noble child Sonic. I'm very proud you're treating the situation with a sensible heart and mind."

I brought my hand over the rock Knuckles gave me. _You must be really working your stuff. _

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky Agua.<strong>


	30. Chapter 30

**Yeah, I don't know... it just came out while I was watching an episode of Sherlock.**

**I'm pretty excited for this one. This is my longest update on this story... and my whole career as a writer on this site.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

"Amy!" Nothing. I tried again, "Amy!" Where the hell can she be?

"Sonic!"

"Tails!" I called out recognizing my little buddy's voice. I looked around and saw the light coming from his flashlight. I pointed my flashlight in his direction. I saw him point his flash light to the ground as he walked up to me.

"Anything?"

He shook his head and said, "No."

"Shit." First Amy and then the next thing I knew all the girls were gone… All of them vanished when we weren't looking.

"Sounds like it should be my line." I looked at him. I could see the worried and angry look on his face. He wasn't looking at me though. He was looking at the ground.

"Tails?"

He looked up at me. "What?"

I thought about my next words to him. "Are you going to tell her when this is all over?"

He looked at me shocked. I gave him a semi serious look with a bit of concern. He opened his mouth to say something, but a voice called out to us.

"Sonic! Tails!"

It was Dave. "Dave!" I called back out.

"I found something!"

Tails and I looked at each other before running towards the nanny. As we ran, I thought about what happened earlier today. Damn it all.

* * *

><p>Amy and I were walking along to Rouge's house. "Ooh, let's check that one out," she said as she pointed to a house. She took my hand and pulled me towards the house. I held onto my hat with my free hand as Amy pulled me.<p>

Amy rang the doorbell, we waited, and then when the door opened of course we said, "Trick or treat."

We got a few compliments for our costumes and received our candy. We gave our thanks and went along the path again.

"I hope I won't get a tummy ache by the end of the night," Amy said with a smile.

"Just don't eat your entire earnings okay?" I looked at her with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

She pouted at me. "Sonic!"

"I mean it Amy. I can't have you puking your guts out and your moms mad at me."

"Oh… come on Sonic. I'm turning eleven next month."

"So…" I played dumb.

"So, I'm not a little girl anymore." She had a hint of _duh _in her voice.

I sighed. "Oh, to be young again."

She playfully punched me. "You were eleven too two years ago."

"Oh hey look we're here." I pointed to Rouge's house. I ran towards her house pulling Amy with me.

Rouge opened the door for us and let us in. When we made it in, everything went black. Black as in, all the lights went out. Amy practically jumped into my arms and held onto me tightly when she heard the door slam shut.

"Rouge?"

She wasn't answering. I got a bad feeling, but only because I knew Rouge was just trying to scare us. Sadly, it was working like a charm on Amy. I should've known something like this was going to happen.

"Sonic?" I could feel her trembling.

"Shh…" I started to stroke her head. There really wasn't much else I could do. Whatever it is that Rouge had planned was going to happen no matter what I do and Amy will get scared. All I can do is have faith that Rouge won't give her a heart attack and that I won't have to sleep with Amy tonight who will keep me up with her paranoia.

Then, there was the sound of steps that echoed in the house and then some scratching sounds. I got to hand it to Rouge… she's good. Amy gripped even harder to me that her nails were digging into my skin. I really hoped that I wouldn't be bruised in the morning or that I was bleeding right now.

"Amy, you're hurting my arm," I whispered.

"Sorry. But you know me when I'm scared."

"Oh boy, do I ever." I rolled my eyes. I was actually kind of glad that she couldn't see.

_Bang! _A gun shut sound and then our friends appeared with different colored light shining on them a bit. They screamed. But Amy screamed louder. I let go of her, bent down and covered my ears. When the light came back on, everyone was holding onto their heads. I was lucky that my ears were relatively fine considering that I was right next to Amy screaming like a total siren.

"Jeez Amy," Knuckles said.

I got up.

"Sorry." Amy's voice turned small and I could see her cheeks grow red with embarrassment. "But you know you shouldn't scare me like that."

Everyone else was back to standing up right now done rubbing their heads. "You know she has a point," I told them.

"It was just a joke Sonic," Rouge whined.

"You know what happens to Amy when she's scared silly like this." I kind of regret saying that, I sounded like some old lady.

Suddenly Cream and Tails walked in. "What did you do?" Tails asked.

"We just scared Amy a little and Sonic is getting all defensive," Rouge answered.

"Rouge!" Cream reprimanded Rouge. "I told you, Amy and I can't handle your little scare games."

I was looking at Cream. I really wanted a cupcake.

"But–"

"Let it go Rouge," Melody advised.

Rouge grumbled. "Fine."

"All right kids, let's step into the basement." Ruby said. I hadn't noticed that she was there the whole time.

"Hurry up now everybody," Dave told us.

Ruby was in a classic witch costume while Dave… was a clown. He even had a horn in his hand and a rainbow afro wig on his head. I chuckled as we made our way into the living room. There was a giant pot with I think… lemonade. There were apples in their too. A few fake webs here and there with bats and spiders hanging from the ceiling. Fake severed body parts at a punch bowl that was on a table with a few snacks. There were empty trays in the shape of giant circles… I can only imagine that pizza was on its way. Next to those was another table with a giant bowl of goodie bags. I noticed a fake skeleton wearing giant glasses and a… feather boa… is what you call it… I don't know. I don't play dress up.

We told Rouge how awesome the place looked.

"Thank you. Thank you." She did a dramatic bow and we played along by clapping.

I looked around and noticed that we were one head short. "Tails, where's Will?"

"His mom won't let him out of the house with his stained face."

"Bummer."

"Yeah, and I think he might have known that Rouge would poke fun at his face."

I chuckled. "Smart raccoon."

The party went on with a few games before the pizza arrived. When it did, we all gathered at a table. While we were eating, I took notice that Dave and Ruby had disappeared. I was going to conclude that they were off alone for a moment to themselves if you know what I mean. But then I noticed that the bowl with goodie bags was gone. Something… is not right here… Course it could just be part of another game. Maybe… some weird hide and seek. Rouge will probably tell us any minute now that we have to find them after faking that she noticed they were gone. They also most likely have our goodie bags… maybe we have to find those too… for points maybe… Either way, it's just part of the party. There's nothing to worry about. And no funny business between the nanny and the babysitter while on the job… at least not serious funny business.

I shook my head to get out of those thoughts. When were done eating, Dave and Ruby came back.

"Is everyone full?" Ruby asked.

We all nodded or said something… or both.

"Great, now we've got a little surprise for you." Ruby got an enthusiastic grin. We listened in with a certain interest in our faces.

"We're going on a little scavenger hunt," Dave explained. "You see we've hidden your little goodies in different places in the woods."

"Don't worry you won't go in too deep." Ruby raised her hands in a sort of defensive position.

Cream and Amy… well possibly Melody and Rocky… and okay, we all got worried looks on our faces. Even Rouge who knew what would happen got an uneasy look.

"You'll be fine. There will be lanterns and you guys get flashlights," Dave told us while gesturing with his hands in an almost encouraging while also worried way. "Now partner up boy and girl." We all just moved around knowing who would go with who. I mean, it really isn't hard to figure out. "Well that was fast," he commented with a weird look in his face. I wasn't sure if he was worried or just flat out uncomfortable.

"All right," Ruby said as she started to hand out flashlights to us. "Now, you each have to find a goodie bag. We have a clue for each of you and you'll work together as a pair to figure it out."

I got the flashlights, while Amy got the clues that were written on sticky notes. We grabbed our sweaters and headed out.

"Now yell out if you guys need something," Ruby said.

We gave our nods and headed out into the woods. There were lanterns like they said… dimly lit forest… but at least we could still see.

"What's the first clue say Amy?"

"Look up."

"What?" I gave her a funny look.

"That's all it says. Just to look up." We shared a look and did what the clue told us to do. We sort of wandered in a circle just looking at the trees. Our flashlights made shadows and Amy screamed once when she thought she saw a ghost.

"It's okay Amy, it was just a branch." I touched her shoulder. She looked at me and then back up at the tree.

"Oh… heh." She smiled weakly at me.

I could only smile back at her a little relieved and a little happy. I kissed her forehead. "Don't worry Amy. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

She smiled at me and gave me a hug. "Thank you Sonic."

I got that feeling again… a feeling I've grown to really love in these past few months. The feeling that I only got when I was with Amy.

When she pulled back she giggled, "Told you, you're my hero Sonic."

I closed my eyes and then looked up remembering the dinner. When I looked back down at her, she was smiling so sweetly at me.

"And there's no one that I would rather be." It just came out of my mouth. I wasn't thinking… I just said it. I felt my heart beat just a little faster as my cheeks grew red. For a moment… I just stared at her and… she stared at me. Then, the next thing I knew I was leaning in to kiss her.

But… then she exclaimed... "Look!" She walked past me with her flashlight pointing up leaving me… looking like an idiot. I sighed a bit in disappointment but refocused when I turned around to see Amy going towards a tree. I looked up to where her flashlight was pointing at. I saw a goodie bag up there. I followed her. I caught up to her in a bit while she waited sort of jumping up and down with glee. "We found it."

"Yeah, here take this." I handed her my flashlight. She turned it off while I started to climb the tree. "Don't shine it on me okay?"

"Okay Sonic." I could hear the worry in her voice. "But, do you really think you can make it? Maybe we should ask for help."

I was halfway up when I responded. "I'm already up here Amy. Don't worry, I always climb trees. I'll be back down in no time."

"Okay. Be careful."

I would have told her that it was a little late for that. I was already up to level with the bag, but I decided against it. She had enough of my lip today. I grabbed the bag. When I looked down, I didn't see Amy.

"Amy?" I climbed back down and tried again. "Amy!" I looked at the flashlight which was propped up by a rock. I took it and grabbed my flashlight.

_Shit!_

* * *

><p>And now there I was; scared that Amy was scared and possibly kidnapped or something. How does a ten year old just disappear like that? I looked around. There was no sign of a struggle. And the ground was wet enough for our shoes to leave marks but when I followed her foot prints they just led me to a mash of other footprints and I couldn't tell hers from others. I guess I can rule out a kidnapping… unless she knew her kidnapper and just doesn't know she's been abducted. I got a lump in my throat as we ran.<p>

I shook my head. _Focus Sonic. You need more evidence and you can't lose your cool. _We made it to Dave.

Rocky and then Knuckles came running.

"Look." Dave showed us a cloth. It was black.

"Is that…" I started. "It's a piece of Ruby's costume." It had to be. The material and the color… the same. "Where'd you find it?"

"Just right here." He pointed down at his feet.

I got down on a squat. There was no way that a piece of her cloak could have snagged on something around here. The path was too wide and for some reason was planted right in the middle of the path. There was no wind tonight… so why was it right in the middle like this?

"Have any ideas Sonic?" Tails asked.

"I'm working on it." I brought my hand to my mouth and started tapping my chin with my finger.

Something… didn't quite fit. That cloth was planted right there… it had to have been put there on purpose. And Amy… she knows right from wrong. Even if she did know the person who was taking her she wouldn't have gone without saying something. There was no sign of struggle so…wait a minute.

"I'll be right back, you guys look for any sign of broken roots or footprints."

"No way Sonic. We're sticking together," Dave told me with a stern look.

There was seriously no time for this. I groaned and said, "Fine. Come on, and hurry." I ran back to where I last saw Amy. I let my arms out to keep the guys from getting too close.

"What gives Sonic?" Knuckles asked.

"Sh."

"Not again." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Just let me do my thing and stay here." I pointed down with my finger before I went back followed Amy's footprints. How could I have missed it? There weren't anyone else's footprints around. Amy went on her own accord without saying anything… she wasn't kidnapped… she purposely went leaving the flashlight there and left me in that tree. But why? I started to go back following Amy's trail with the guys behind me asking questions. I ignored them.

The mash of footprints… I took a closer look. Around in a circle it looked like many of the freshest prints were those of the girls. It hit me. I grinned and decided to play along.

"Dave, where did you find that cloth again?"

"Over there, come on." Dave led us back. I kept my eyes on the ground. The girls' footprints didn't lead that way as far as I could tell. "Right here." I looked past where he pointed.

I took my flashlight and took a look around. I found some broken root and beside it was a piece of candy. Nice one, ladies. Now I suppose I get to find you guys after going around in a circle right?

"Guys, look at this."

"Candy?" Knuckles asked.

"Yup, a clue. Someone was past here." I shined my flashlight onto the path. There was a trail of candy. "Gentlemen, we follow that trail, we find our ladies."

So we did. By this time I think even Knuckles knew that something didn't seem right… like we were being set up… Which we were, but why spoil the fun of the girls. After a while, some candy dropped on us from above. We looked up only to face spiders to drop on our heads. I dodged knowing that they were planning something like this. I hopped behind a tree. I watched as the guys screamed and tried to get the spiders off of their heads. These things were awfully sticky. And then I heard some scratching in the trees. I saw Rouge and Cream fly down and squirt sticky string at my friends. Wait, Cream can fly? That… shouldn't be possible… Then again a bee shouldn't be able to fly either… And somehow Tails can fly too. Weird world…

More scratching. I saw as the girls come back down and started to wrap the guys up with rope. The next thing I knew… the guys were the victims of horrid makeovers. By the time they were done, they looked like something out of a zombie movie mixed with bright clay animation. I hid behind the tree not wanting to see my friends tripped of their manliness. There was flash and then another and then another. Okay… the joke's over… time for a little pay back.

If they think they can get away with this they've got another thing coming. I started to climb up a tree. The girls were in awe at their creation and the guys were embarrassed as hell. I gathered up some branches and tied them up into a shape with some rope I found up there that the girls must've left behind. I placed my flashlight and Amy's flashlight in the shape in a way that they would be eyes. I hooked the branches and the switches to make some more rope. Amazing how much there was up here. Guess they just wanted to make sure we were secure… or maybe I figured out their little scheme faster than they had hoped. If so, that would mean that they were planning on a much better restrain and so much rope was left up here.

Right when I finished, I heard this, "Hey, where's Sonic?" Rouge asked.

I quickly hid behind the tree I was in and hoped that they wouldn't see me.

"Sonic?" I heard Amy call out my name. She kept calling it out. They've got to be using her to get me to come out. As much as I would run to the call of my lady, I know better this time around. Next time, I'll get to her… if she's not part of some kind of prank on me and the guys. I scratched at the branches. I heard some gasps. When they weren't looking, I knocked down a lamp with my foot. More screaming.

"This way." Ruby took charge. "You boys stay here and be good."

I smirked. When they were far along the path, I got down and untied the guys.

"You've got some fancy foot work Sonic," Dave said.

"Thanks."

"Now what Sonic?" Rocky asked.

"Well, first thing, take off those wigs and stuff. Then we get up in the trees. Dave, you, Rocky and Knuckles will turn off the rest of those lanterns when the girls come back. Tails, you fly around and give them a few taps when the lights go out. Then, come back up with me, shine your flashlight on our friend up there." I took a pause to point at it. Pretty nice handy work if I do say so myself. "When the girls are screaming like mad, we each come down and let them cry into our shoulders."

I got a pat on the back and then some words of praise from the guys. Then I heard the girls coming. We scrambled to our spots.

"I can't believe this, how did he get away?" Melody asked.

"Well, he is Sonic the future detective after all," Cream said.

"He didn't even come out when Amy called him."

"You think he left?" It was Amy's voice. I could hear the hurt in her voice. For a moment, I wanted to just go down there and be her hero again… but then I remembered what she and the girls did to the guys… harmless, but we can't let them believe that we're afraid of a bunch of girls. Or that we can be so fooled by them… Okay that might sound bad, but hey, we'll apologize once when we're done. And once they apologize for making fools out of us… well mostly my friends, but that's why this is going to happen.

"Hey, what happened to the boys?"

Show time.

Knuckles, Dave and Rocky did their job. The girls screamed with every one that slipped down onto the ground. Tails swooped down as Ruby waved her flashlight around. Their big mistake was that Amy, Cream, Rouge and Melody left their flashlights with us.

I heard them call Tails a bat. I started to giggle. When I saw that Tails came back and was ready with his flashlight, I pulled the strings to turn on the flashlights and to move it a bit. Tails shined some light on our friend. The shrieking that came out of their mouths… blood curdling. They were huddled together by the time we got down there not looking at our friend. We came down and tapped their shoulders. They screamed again as they turned to find us standing there each with open arms.

"Sonic!"

"Tails!"

"Knuckles!"

"Rocky!"

"Dave!"

Amy jumped on me and I practically fell over. She breathed really heavily, at first I felt pretty rotten for doing this, "I'm so sorry Sonic." I looked at Amy who had some tears in her eyes. I hugged her tightly telling her that everyone will be okay. I may have felt bad but holding her like this made me feel needed. I was her knight in shining armor… the one to come and save her and be there for her when she needs it.

She sniffled a bit and I pulled away. The look on her face… so scared…

It's time for my apology. "I'm sorry too Amy."

"What?"

My heart sunk. I sighed before I went on to explain what happened. They got upset, but we buttered them up and had a good night.

I even got a kiss good night when I dropped Amy off at her house.

Looking back at it… it was totally worth it.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky Agua.<strong>


	31. Chapter 31

**So, this is the begining of resolving another one of Sonic's... problems. I've given Blake his spotlight, now let's take a look at something else. **

**I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

When I walked home… I bumped my head into the door… again. I kind of hate that Amy's kisses just send me to lala land and that I'm dumb enough to actually move afterwards. I rubbed my head before I went in. Ma was out with Ryan and Shadow… was off at another party doing who knows what. I was about to head up to my room when I heard some noise coming from the living room. _Weird. _I go in to find the TV on and my brother asleep with Maria on the couch.

I smiled at my brother when I put the pieces together. Maria was dressed as a fairy and I noticed the wand on the coffee table. Shadow wore a prisoner's outfit. I smelled some alcohol on them and… something else. A part of Maria's costume was torn off and I saw a bandage on my brother's face along with a bruise. Conclusion: the party got too intense, my brother fought off some dude that was drunk and was trying to… get with Maria, and then they came here. From the looks of the pizza box, I'd say they got home about two hours ago. I turned off the TV and then got a blanket to cover them with. I looked at Shadow and Maria for a bit… "Congrats bro."

I was going to turn away but then I heard, "Thanks."

I stopped in my tracks, and turned around, but Shadow was back to sleep.

I smirked. "You're telling me everything tomorrow."

I saw him smile and open one eye. "Good night Sonic."

"Night bro."

I walked up to my room and had a much needed night's rest.

The next morning, I woke up via Maria's wand was thrown at me.

"Would. You. Please. STOP THAT!" I sat up and saw both Maria and Shadow in the doorway.

Maria giggled. "Sorry Sonic, but I had to see why your brother likes to wake up you like this."

"You've got to be kidding me?" I looked at her kind of confused and disappointed. What has Shadow done to her?

"Nope, it was all Maria this time." Shadow smirked at me.

"I'm really sorry Sonic."

"At least you actually apologize. Shadow can't even do that." I pointed at him.

I saw him squirm as Maria gave him an angry look. "He doesn't, does he?"

"Hey, hang on a minute." He held his hands up defensively. "You did it too."

"But I said I was sorry."

"I don't mean anything by it."

She stared him down; he grew so small I could hardly see him. Ma came to his rescue though.

"Oh, come along Maria." Ma appeared in the doorway. "Let's see if we can find you something to wear."

Maria nodded. "Thank you Ms. Hedgehog."

"Oh, and you boys can head down for breakfast now." Then, she and Maria left us.

Shadow sighed in relief as they walked away. When he looked back at me he said, "Saved by Ma."

"Did you hear her come in last night?" I asked, when I remembered that she was out too… with her new boyfriend no less.

"Hm, oh no. I was out like a light, why?"

"Just asking." I got up from bed and headed towards him. "Come on, let's get some breakfast." I walked past him.

"Hey, are you okay little brother?" Shadow asked as we walked. I guess my voice seem more down than usual.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"Shadow," I whined.

"I mean it little brother. I know when something's not right with you and something is definitely not right with you."

I sighed. "It's just…Ryan."

"Ryan? How can…" He paused as we made it to the kitchen. I took my seat while he figured out what my problem was. "Oh…"

"Took you long enough," I remarked as I fixed my plate with pancakes and French toast.

"C'mon, Sonic. It's no big deal."

"I know it isn't, but…" I wasn't too sure exactly what to make of it. "I just don't want this to end badly."

I started cutting a piece of French toast.

"Neither do I, but we can't control the turn out." He came towards me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "All we can do is hope for the best."

I smiled weakly at my older brother. "I guess."

"And hey," he started as he took his seat, "Ryan will be over for dinner soon. Maybe you can use your detective skills on him."

"Way ahead of you." I smirked.

"Oh, it's so nice to see my boys so calm."

"You act as if we fight every single second," Shadow commented.

Maria came in with what had to be bellbottoms and a tank.

"It sure feels that way sometimes." Ma got this exasperated look on her face while Maria giggled.

"Thanks Ma." I shared her look.

"Oh my, look at the time; I need to get to the office." I hadn't even noticed she had on her scrubs.

"On a Saturday?" I asked.

"Sorry Sweetie, but one of the doctors called in sick. I need to go in." She ran to me and kissed my head. "I'll be back in the late afternoon. Bye."

She left in a hurry.

"Does this normally happen?" Maria asked as she moved towards us.

"Only as of late," Shadow told her.

"And something tells me it has to do with Ryan," I said.

"You mean your mom's new boyfriend?" She asked as she took a seat.

"Yup."

There was a moment of silence.

"So, how was the party Sonic? I heard you and your friends got together yesterday?" Maria asked.

"It was… interesting." I took a sip of milk.

"What did you do?" Shadow looked at me without an actual expression.

"Nothing." _Damn it. _I said it too fast again and my voiced was not helping.

"Spill it Sonic."

I groaned. "Okay." I did and Maria, although I made her laugh, did tell me that I shouldn't have done it… or at least not scared them so much in one go.

"After what those girls did them, they deserved it," Shadow commented. "But I have to admit, those girls were good."

"Don't remind me. The guys looked horrible."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Maria said with a hopeful look.

"They made them look like the offspring of a zombie and a freaky looking clown."

Maria kept a nervous smile.

"At least what Sonic and the guys pulled didn't cost the girls their looks."

Maria sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "How upset was Amy?"

"Pretty upset, but we patched things up after a while."

"Oh," she brightened up, "Well that's good."

"So, what happened with you guys? It sure didn't look like everything was okay at the party."

Maria got this blush on her face and looked away while twirling a quill around her fingers.

"How about I tell you later?"

I was going to say okay, but then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Maria announced before speeding towards the door. Like two minutes passed by before Maria came back in "Um…Shadow, the police are at your door."

Shadow and I shared a look before looking back at Maria.

He got up. "Stay here, I'll take care of it." Then he walked off.

"I hope we're not in trouble," Maria said… she seemed to just be thinking out loud so I didn't ask her anything. Her hands were over her heart while she stood in the middle of the kitchen waiting for Shadow.

When he finally came back in he looked at Maria and then at me. "Dad's missing."

For a moment, time stood still. This was about Dad? What the hell did he get himself into this time? His face suddenly came to me… I felt angry. Whatever shit he does has nothing to do with us anymore. Why can't he just disappear? Then I realized… he did disappear since the cops were looking for him… but the way Shadow said it…

"What do you mean missing?" I got back into my detective mode.

"I mean, no one knows where he is and Granny went to the police."

I looked down thinking. _Why would he go missing?_ He's either dead, or he's running from someone.

"For how long?"

"They didn't tell me. They told us to keep a look out."

What's going on Dad?

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><p><strong>Edited (a little bit) by Sky Agua<strong>


	32. Chapter 32

**We see a little bit of the aftermath of the news. Next chapter I have a bit of a surprise for you guys.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

"Aaaahhhhh!" That night, I woke up with a cold sweat. I sat up and threw my sheets far from me and breathed in heavily.

"Who's there?" I heard Shadow say before coming in drowsily. "Stay away from my brother!" He switched on the light.

"I'm fine Shadow." I would have laughed just because he looked funny, but I couldn't.

"Sonic!" Ma ran in. "Are you okay? I heard you scream."

"I'm fine."

"Then why were you screaming?" Shadow asked kind of annoyed and tired.

"It was nothing." I whined.

"Sonic," Ma came to me. "what's wrong?" She sat on my bed and started to stroke my head.

"Just a nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Shadow walked over.

"I'm fine. I just…" I didn't want to talk about it. I needed a way out. "I need to stop eating chilidogs right before bed and then reading one of my detective stories." I said pretty fast.

"That would explain it." Ma had this sort of pout and sort of scared look and she kept moving her eyes from side to side.

"I always wonder why I would dream of hotdogs at night," Shadow said with a hint of aha in it.

I turned away from them. "Sorry for waking you guys."

"Oh, it's okay Sonic."

I got them to leave after a while. Ma kissed my head before she left and turned off the lights. I got onto my back and just looked up at the ceiling… that I really couldn't see much of anyway. I lied there thinking about it. It was the nightmare… I haven't had it in a while.

It was the same every single time. I would be in this dark place all by myself and I would be in a hole. My dad would appear at the mouth of the hole, laugh and pull me out. I'd struggle, break free and run. There would be nothing but trees as I ran and ran, but no matter how fast I ran, Dad would always be right there behind me. Then he'd catch me, we'd be consumed by this red thing before I would wake up. But there was something different about this one. Instead of him pulling me out and chasing me… we started running together, I took his hand and ran at full speed… running from the red thing before he was taken out of my grip. His scream… that's what got me to wake up. I tried going back to sleep but it just kept coming back and I just couldn't.

"Sonic? Sonic… Sonic!"

"Huh, what?" My head shot up as I realized where I was.

"Sonic, are you okay?" I looked at Amy. We were in her room and I was tutoring her. We were sitting at her desk. She held a pencil in her hand and was looking at me with a worried look.

I yawned. "Yeah Ames, I'm just tired."

"Why are you so tired?"

"It's nothing Amy, just… bad eating and sleeping habits." I nodded in a slow way.

"Have you tried stopping those habits?" Amy asked with a hint of duh in it.

"Old habits die hard." I smirked at her. "You should know that. You still can't sleep without your bear."

She had this look of shock on her face before looking angry at me. "It was a gift from my grandpa."

"You mean the archeologist or the dentist?" I asked her.

"The archeologist." Amy sounded kind of annoyed at me. Then she sighed. "Sonic, you're not really being helpful when you're nodding off every few minutes."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just…" I started to get sleepy.

"I'll finish my homework by myself." She got up. "You," she pointed at me, "are going to take a nap."

"No!" I yelled and quickly regretted it.

Amy looked shocked, worried, and confused.

"I'm sorry Ames, I'm really sorry." I got out of my seat and hugged her. I nuzzled her.

"Sonic?" I pulled away from her. "You're not okay. You need some sleep."

I looked at her and slowly just shook my head back and forth. "I can't."

"You can. You need to. You've got the dinner today with Ryan. You can't be nodding off."

She had a point, but I just didn't want the nightmare to come back.

She took my hand and I looked at her. She looked directly into my eyes and silently pleaded for me to get some sleep. After looking at that face, I just couldn't say no.

So I sighed, and told her, "Okay, but just for a little while."

She smiled and kissed my cheek. "That's a good Sonic." She smirked.

"I'm not a dog."

She pointed towards her bed and gave me a stern look. "Just go to sleep."

"All right, all right, I'm going. Lighten up."

I took the nap like she wanted me to. With Amy there… I was out like a light… the nightmare didn't come. All I could see was pink. I was gorging on cotton candy… it was everywhere!

When I woke up… I felt so much better. I stretched a bit before looking around. Amy wasn't in her room. I got out of her bed and headed down the stairs. I spotted Amy on her way up.

"Oh good, you're awake. Your mom called and–"

"Say no more, I know." I came to her and kissed her forehead. "Thanks Ames."

She giggled. "I knew you just needed a nice nap." She smiled sweetly at me.

"I don't think it was just a nap." I smirked.

Amy started to blush when she figured out what I was trying to tell her.

"I'll see ya later Ames."

"Alright, bye Sonic."

I left and changed out of my graphic tee when I made it to my room. I heard a knock at my door.

"Hey," it was Shadow, "You ready for this little brother?"

"As I'll ever be." I looked at him with a weak smile.

"You think you can stay awake?" He came in and headed towards me. "I can't have a little detective off his game." He ruffled my quills.

"Hey," I said as I struggled.

He only smiled this time.

"I'll be fine. Nothing's going to get past me."

"Well someone must've munched on his candy stash." He then came in close to me. Our heads were touching as he asked me with a fast voice, "By the way, where is it?"

"Shadow," I whined.

"Please…" He looked at me trying to look cute but he made himself look like a complete idiot.

I sighed. "Top drawer on the left hand side of my desk."

"Thanks little bro."

The door bell rang.

"Boys, can one of you get that? I'm still not ready," Ma called out to us.

"I'll get it," I said knowing that Shadow would be busy chewing on some chocolate.

I ran to the door, dusted myself off and asked, "Who is it?"

"Ryan, I believe I've got a date with Elizabeth and her two boys, Shadow and Sonic."

I opened the door. "It's not a date if the kids are with you." I looked at him. "And one of them is in college."

He smiled at me. Then a lightning flashed.

"Ah." It wasn't just usual effect either. For a split second…I saw my dad.

"Hm, odd, the forecast didn't call for rain." I looked at him again. He was the grey hedgehog I saw before and he was looking out behind him at the sky with a contemplating look.

"Isn't meteorology a practice too, I mean it isn't a perfected science."

He looked at me and chuckled. "Nice one."

"Thanks, now you better come in before it rains."

Too late. Just when he was about to take a step a few drops fell.

"Hurry."

He rushed in, I closed the door and then turned back to look at him. He was in mostly black… his tie was blue and his shirt was white. If I didn't know any better I'd say we shared wardrobe. I wasn't wearing a jacket or tie though and my shirt was thinly striped.

"Thank you Sonic."

"No problem. I'd probably get into trouble if I kept you out there." I walked past him. "Ma is still getting ready and Shadow…"

He looked at me waiting to hear the rest.

"I don't know, having an older brother is weird sometimes."

He smirked at me. "I don't know, having a younger brother is weird too sometimes… especially when he has a nasty habit of disappearing."

"You have a younger brother?"

"Oh yeah, Fred and I used to do everything together. Granted he could be a pain, but little brothers are like that."

"Hey, older brothers aren't that much better."

He grinned. "I take it that Shadow like to tease."

"Ha, more than you would ever know."

"Oh I don't know, I was a teen with a kid brother too you know."

"Are you trying to tell me you used to mess with your brother on purpose?" I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Only when he deserved it."

We sort of smirked and stared at each other.

"Ryan." Ma called from the top of the stairs. She came down slowly. I smirked and took the time to get a good look at Ryan. He straightened up at the sight of Ma. His eyes grew a little and a slow smile came to his face. I then noticed he had a box in his hands; looks like he stopped at a pastry shop before he got here.

So far so good. Seems totally not my father… let's hope he stays that way… for Ma's sake.

Ryan complemented Ma on her dress. I was hoping she would go for the navy one, but the black one fitted her just fine. It was maybe a little too fine for my taste. They talked a bit before Shadow came down and Ryan and Shadow shook hands.

As dinner went on, I kept my eyes on Ryan. Every time he was asked a question, I took notice of his body language and how he projected his voice.

"Sonic?"

"Hm?"

"Do… I have something on my face?"

"No, why?"

"You haven't taken your eyes off me this whole night."

He noticed? Shit. "I… have no idea what you're talking about."

He stared at me with his eyes narrowed and a slight smirk on his face. "What are you up to little hedgehog?"

"I'm not little." I stared back at him with my eyes narrowed. He's not getting the best of me.

"You're stalling."

"What would make you think I'm up to something?" I can't blow my cover.

"Call it a brother's intuition."

"But we're not related."

"A little brother is a little brother."

I faked being shocked. "What, so we're all the same to you?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Then can we drop it?" I forced a smile hoping he'd just comply.

He cocked an eyebrow at me and kept staring at me. "All right"

I sighed in relief.

"But only because I didn't get a bad feeling." He gave me a stern look.

"Wait a minute, you have a little brother?" Shadow asked him.

Ryan smiled and nodded.

"Wasn't his name Fred?" Ma asked.

"Yup, he…" He looked back at me, "Actually Sonic and Fred look an awful lot alike."

"Seriously?"

"Oh yeah, from the fur color to the slicked back quills. Well, he had facial hair already at thirteen but other than that, yeah, very similar."

We laughed a little.

"So, then what was he like?"

"Oh, that kid had trouble written all over. Sure his intentions were good but his little… schemes didn't always work out exactly how he wanted them to."

"So… he was a meddler?" I asked.

"And one of the worst or the best depending on how you see it."

I'll admit Ryan was… good company. Of course, I won't really tell him that… at least not now.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky Agua (the permanent editor)<strong>


	33. Chapter 33

**I had to make a few alterations to this one after I first wrote it. I had a little moment where I was unhappy with myself, so yeah, that's why this one came a little later than I wanted. **

**Please enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

I was in my room playing my guitar… well trying to anyway, before I had to head on over to Amy's. I had to get her out of the house for a few hours so the girls can decorate for her surprise birthday party.

I know that I probably should be thinking about Amy, but I just can't. I'm surprised I can even hold up my guitar. That nightmare isn't going away.

A few weeks go by since my dad's disappearing act and well… it's the same thing each night. We run and run but he ends up being caught and I wake up when he screams. Doc and I can't really place it. I'm not scared of my dad anymore, that much I know for sure. I'm not running away from him anymore… we're running away together. But from what? What is it trying to tell me? Is it something that I even have to really worry about?

I don't know what's worst, the fact that I can't figure this out or that I haven't had sleep in weeks. I can feel my grades slipping every time I nod my head up and down trying to stay awake. Blake even pulled a little prank involving peanut butter in the science lab. I didn't feel embarrassed or angry… just really tired and seriously sticky. On the upside, Amy did like the peanut butter smell I had on that day.

I looked at the clock on my night stand. It's near 1 in the afternoon. I shot out of my bed leaving my guitar and making a dash for the basket that Ma set with a picnic lunch for Amy and I… yeah, I tried to do it myself, but I ended up sleeping on a slice of bread for a few minutes before Ma found me. I grabbed it and walked on over to Amy's. I rang the bell and waited.

Amy opened the door.

"Happy birthday Amy." I felt a bit better seeing Amy's face. Of course it only reminded me that the only time when I fall asleep is when I'm supposed to be tutoring her.

"Thank you Sonic." She got on her toes and kissed my cheek. "And what took ya? It's almost one."

"Yeah, I kind of…"

"Been nodding off with everything?"

I blushed a bit. "Yeah, I'm sorry I'm late."

"Well, you're here now and I really hope you went easy on the mayo this time."

"You don't even need to worry about it," I said as I sort of waved my hand and shook my head back and forth. "Ma fixed it this time."

"Good." She smirked at me.

"Hey, I'm not that bad." I smirked at her.

She giggled.

"Well, come on, I promised you some alone time together on your birthday and I _always_ keep my promises."

I held my hand out to her. She smiled sweetly and took it. We walked into the back woods and sat near the pond. It was always nice to have such a nice looking place not too far away from home. It made the perfect place for a simple date with Amy.

"So, how are the nightmares?" She asked when we settled down.

I sighed, "I really don't want to talk about it Amy." I started to unpack everything.

"You sure Sonic?"

"Yeah," I gave her a weak smiled, "besides, today's all about you birthday girl." I winked at her.

I got her to smile back. "Well okay, but hey if I start thinking I'm really the queen of the world it's all your fault."

"Oh please, you can never boss someone around. You're too much like a mouse."

"Better a mouse than a dog."

"So true, but can we not talk about my problems?" It was Amy's day after all. She's always so concern about me. What happened with Blake today? You sure you can handle this? How did that happen to you? How did you get that cut? Okay, that last one was pretty valid, anyone could ask you that. But my point still stands. Sometimes, I wonder if I ever ask her enough about her day. Then again her attention to me doesn't really allow me to do that.

"Oh, right, sorry." She popped a grape into her mouth. "Well, how's the training before training going?"

"You mean those programs?" Notice how she's still asking about me. At least it's not on Blake or any other issue of mine.

She nodded.

"It's boring, too much tech stuff and not enough of a story. Plus, I can figure it out in almost no time at all." I took a bite of a turkey sandwich.

"Isn't it a good thing that you can solve it fast?" She took a bite out of hers.

"Yeah, but it prolongs the case so much with unneeded steps when getting evidence. It's annoying. Part of the thrill is the story that begins to unfold before you as you connect the pieces together."

"Thrill?" She looked at me funny.

"Well it's not exactly the safest profession."

"I know, but…" Her face became slightly altered to look like her face was all scrunched up.

"Bad wording?"

"Uh-huh."

"Amy, I'm going to enjoy what I do, but I don't like the whole crime and murder thing to it like anyone else."

She still had a weird look on her face.

"I'm not happy about crime, just happy that I'll be able to do something about it." I tried again, hoping she'd at least get a feel of what I was trying to tell her.

"Okay… still kind of weird to me though." Her face was back to normal.

I sighed. "Yeah well, of course a future chef won't understand."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She playfully asked me.

"It means the worst thing you'll see is a health hazard that's a rat."

She punched me. "We'd be shut down if a rat was ever found in the kitchen."

"And that's the worst thing that could happen to a chef, right?"

"Yeah," she had this shriek tone to her voice, "that's like the ultimate dishonor; your restaurant being unfit to serve the public."

"Can't you just open another one?"

"It's not that easy to open up a restaurant Sonic."

Okay, I can tell this might reach a point where she might take it as an argument and I'm just there babbling.

"Okay okay, you win."

"Well that was fast."

"Let's just change the subject." Let's see… what can get her into a more eh, bubbly mood? Aha. "Have you heard anything from Cream yet?"

Her eyes lit up and her ears perked. "She's totally crushing on Tails."

"Seriously?" That was possibly the best news I've heard all week.

She nodded and giggled. "Yeah, but she's just so shy about it. The poor thing, she's only told me."

"Hm, it doesn't surprise me, Rouge won't _ever_ let her live it down."

"What about Tails?"

I let out a breath. "He likes her, but he doesn't have a clue on how to go on about it?"

"Have you tried helping him out?"

"I thought that stunt we pulled on Halloween might do the trick, or at least help him see he can be there for her when she needs someone."

"Well it wasn't exactly a nice thing you did." She looked away from me with a frown.

I sighed, we had this fight already and I really don't want a repeat of the aftermath of our little stunt. "Amy, I know it wasn't nice, but you can't really blame me for wanting to get back you and the girls for making them look like freaky cartoons and then taking pictures."

I saw her face soften knowing that she knew I was right. "Well… maybe the pictures were a bit much, but you guys didn't get hurt." She tried to pull a soft smile but I just eyed her.

"You cut their pride by a good chunk," I told her in a duh kind of fashion.

"We said we were sorry." Oh boy, she was getting cute with me and… it was working. She batted her eyes at me with a soft smile. Darn it, she's good.

"Well," I didn't want to seem like I totally gave into her so instead of telling her it was okay, I said, "let's just hope we can get our friends together without any damage."

She looked a little confused at me, but then just smiled. "I don't think it'll be hard. We just need to get them alone with each other."

A few hours went by without another near fight. That's the last thing Amy and I need on her special day. Eventually I had the feeling that the girls had to have been done so we went inside to leave the basket. I took a look at the time. It was four. Perfect, Rouge gave me specific orders to have Amy there either at or a little after four.

When we got there, I opened the door and Amy got a weird look on her face. "Mama?" She called out. She looked at me with a confused look. "Mommy?" She stepped in and I shut the door.

We weren't in complete darkness, some light came in from the little window on top of the front door.

"Sonic?" I heard the frightened tone in her voice.

"It's okay Amy, I'm right here. Follow me." I took her hand and led her to their living room.

"But Sonic, what about my moms?"

"Just trust me okay?"

She didn't get the chance to respond. There was a popping sound combined with that of a horn. The lights turned on as everyone said, "Surprise!"

At least when Amy screamed, it was out of joy rather than mine where I was completely shocked on my birthday. She ran to hug everyone and thanked them all as fast as she could and with so much energy I felt myself getting less tired. I have never seen her so happy… well maybe our time at the fair she was this happy. The girls went all out with the pink… and I mean it, it was almost hard to stomach it. It was everywhere and it almost scared me. It was perfect for Amy… and that was good… right?

I shook my head. Okay, I can take it. Not all of it was pink. There was definitely a sort of pink theme though, but there was also a sort of nature feel to it. There was a giant fake tree filled with blossoms near the table with gifts. A few more green plants were around. Maybe it's supposed be some kind of mystic forest, which made think of fairies which made me think of a fairy princess… It wasn't exactly far fetch. At least there weren't fake fairies everywhere.

When I took a good look at the guys, I could tell they were a little uneasy.

"Think we might last fellas?" I asked.

"Most likely, but I might not want to look at pink ever again after today," Tails responded.

The rest of the guys had to agree with Tails in their own little way.

I heard some giggling and looked over to where the girls seemed to be huddled. I saw Amy have an uneasy look but then she smiled. It didn't take me long to figure out why. There was another girl there with them that I've never seen before. She looked familiar though… like Dave?! Her fur sure was that silvery gray, her hair though, was a little darker with silver streaks that she kept in a braid… a really long braid. Her bangs covered her eyes a little.

"Hey, who's she?" I didn't turn to the guys; I kept focused on the new girl.

"Dave's younger sister, Rachel," Tails responded.

"He has a sister?" I turned to them with a confused look. He never mentioned a sister before.

"Yeah, she's staying with Dave until their parents figure out their issues."

"Seems like everyone has something big on their plate lately," I commented.

"At least she is not in the crossfire anymore," Will stated.

"True, and it looks like she and the girls will get along just fine."

"Sure but is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Rocky asked. "It's just one more of them to take part in Rouge's schemes."

"I doubt she'll pull anything, Cream said she wouldn't let her come up with anything," I told them.

"I don't know Sonic, Rouge can be pretty sneaky," Knuckles warned.

"Noted."

"Hey boys," Ruby called out to us. We turned to face her with the girls and … Maria? I didn't see her come in. "Ready to have a little fun?" She had a face that told me this probably was either really not good or really weird.

"Gentlemen," I took a pause as I took a step back, "I think we may be heading into dangerous waters."

I heard my friends gulp behind me.

"Oh relax; this one won't break your pride or whatever."

"What do you want us to do?"

When she explained it to us… we weren't sure how to respond. We all shared a confused look.

"What's the problem?" Rouge asked.

"Nothing it's just… weird," I said.

"It's part of the fun you guys," Melody said.

"And it won't be you guys this time," Cream told us.

I looked at the guys. They had unsure looks. It was a while before each of them shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Good, now put these on," Ruby said as she handed me some blind folds.

I wasn't sure what we had gotten ourselves into, but I'll have to say… the ending result was pretty hilarious. We made them look like really bad drag queens… and for some reason Cream looked like an alien. We even talked Maria and Ruby to do it. Shadow and Dave were more than happy to oblige.

The day would have ended on a good note but about an hour after we got home, the door bell rang followed by a knock. We were in the living room watching a comedy special.

"I'll get it," I said.

I opened the door to find a cop in uniform and someone who I had to assume was an investigator. Wait, what were they doing here?

"Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Yes?" I looked at them wondering what they were here for. Then it hit me as I got into detective mode… sort of. It could just be because this is my dad is of concern… and that nightmare. "You found my dad, didn't you?"

"Yes son, but we would like to speak with your mother."

My heart skipped a beat. "Just one thing."

They looked at me curiously. "Yes son?"

"Is he alive?"

"Well–"

"Is he?" I urged.

He sighed. "No son, your father is dead."

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky Agua<strong>


	34. Chapter 34

**Hello. everybody. I meant to post this one up yesterday, but my editor didn't get to it. Anywho it's here now so please enjoy**.

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Shadow, Ma and I were sitting down on the couch while the two cops sat in the chairs across from us. We were soaking in what they told us. My dad… is dead… in all honesty… I'm not sure what to think or to feel. On the one hand… he's a total dirt bag. On the other hand… a life was taken. Do I feel remorse or happiness? What the hell? Who would be happy hearing that someone is dead? My dad was a douche but that doesn't mean that I should go and dance on his grave while Granny is crying her eyes out. That would make me an even bigger sicko than my dad.

Still… I don't know if he deserves my sympathy…after what he did to me…to Shadow…to Ma…what _did_ he deserve from us? It's surely not our tears. But also, not a smile. I looked at Ma and Shadow. I'm pretty sure we're thinking the same thing: what to do. Maybe if we get all the facts… we'll know.

The facts… I looked at the two cops in front of me. "You've got a cause of death?"

"Excuse me?" He was a red kind of brown squirrel. He didn't seem to have a uniform on, but he sure enough wasn't wearing a trench coat and fedora. He looked like he was ready to head into some kind of office.

"A cause of death. I know for sure he wouldn't have died of old age."

They shared a look before looking back at me. I just had a neutral face.

"Well," he cleared his through before continuing, "a bullet to his head seems to be the culprit."

"What?" I heard from my brother and mother.

"Yes."

"Any other injuries?"

He still seemed very uneasy with me. "Yes… he suffered a few blows to the head, a few stab wounds to his middle area and back, and a few more gun shots."

"Sounds like someone not only wanted him dead, but also wanted him to suffer." The question is, why? Now I know he was a jerk to us, but we never went out to kill him. He's a lowlife… not someone to worry about… unless it concerns someone pretty big in some sort of way.

"Yes." The investigator eyed me. "What do you know?"

"Nothing. If you're going to ask if we would know who did this, then the answer is no. We haven't had any kind of contact with that hedgehog in years."

"Can you tell me why that is?"

"He…" I clenched my teeth and calmed down, "did a lot of bad things before we left him behind."

"I see." He looked at me and then at Ma and Shadow. They were being quiet. "Ma'am, have you had any contact with your ex-husband?"

"I already said no," I blurted out kind of angry and annoyed.

He ignored me and focused on mom. "Ma'am?"

"He's tried calling, but I always ignored him. I even sent his mother to give him the divorce papers to sign. I never wanted to talk to or see that hedgehog again." Ma had a bit of an angry look on her face while she was looking at her hands. When she brought her head up, she added, "You'd better take Sonic's word as law. I don't know anything, not even the details of what went on while I was out of the house."

He looked puzzled, but then turned to Shadow, "What about you son?"

Shadow didn't look up… he just stared off to the mirror planted on the far side of room on the wall. "No, that piece of shit is long forgotten."

I saw the investigator's face get a look of slight surprise but he quickly recollected himself.

"Can you tell me more about your times with your father?"

"Hm," Shadow got a slight smirk while keeping an angry look, "he's no father. He's a sick bastard that used us to satisfy himself. He took a lot from us and showed us one thing: the world can be a cruel place."

I saw him take a breath. "I see."

"Just listen to Sonic. He'll tell you all you need to know."

"Why would you say that?"

"I'm striving to be an investigator myself," I told him.

"Oh, really?" he cocked an eyebrow.

I nodded. "I've always had a good sense of justice."

He nodded. "Then I think you'll know what I'll ask next."

I smirked a little. "Look, he liked to drink… a lot. He'd bring women home, and he'd smoke… more than just tobacco usually. That should help to bring in a few possibilities."

He smirked… with a face that told me he was impressed. "I can see you'll make a fine recruit to the force."

I smiled. "Thanks, mind answering a few questions of my own regarding the case."

He looked over at his partner who shrugged his shoulders. He looked back at me… eyeing me before smiling and said "Fire away, son."

"Where was his body found?"

"On the bank of the river behind the old train station, he was on his belly."

"Was he washed up there from another part of the river or was that where he was killed?"

"It looks like he was killed right there, but it also looks like he had suffered some blows and stabs that were scarring and healing."

"Any footprints or car tracks… something?"

"Quite a few actually, we found different brands and sizes."

"You just need some suspects to match them to." It was more of a statement rather than a question.

"Exactly."

"Have you asked the neighbors?"

"They don't seem to know much about your dad, son. One did however see him with a few bags one night and driving off in a rental. Another says he saw a strange guy leaving a note at his residency."

"Residency?" In all these years I never gave thought as to what ever happened to dad after we left him.

"He's living with a friend who is hard to reach."

A friend? Why is it so hard to believe that dad actually did have a friend out there somewhere.

"Hard to reach?"

"His profession doesn't really allow us for much time for questioning. We've scheduled an appointment for him to come down."

"I see." Who could dad know that would take him in? He had to be either really kind and generous or a real idiot. Whoever he is… he's in for quite a ride.

"Anything else?"

"You never gave me your name."

He smiled, "Just call me Roger."

So, that was my first questioning… an unusual one, but still one all the same. Roger said I could go to his office and review the case once they know who did it and let me try to figure it out with pieces he'll give me. Looks like I've got a mentor before I would even get out of the Academy.

I was on my back looking up at the ceiling thinking. Recap, Dad was murdered by a group of people. Just that alone had me thinking they were sent by someone… someone that my dad ticked off. Who? … I have no idea… or rather… the ideas aren't really narrowed. Dad wasn't a clean individual… but whoever he pissed off… had to be some sort of criminal already.

Someone saw him leave packed up for a trip. Dad knew he was going to get killed. His attackers may have ruffed him up a bit a few times before the final message was sent. Roger did say Dad had a few wounds that were healing and scarring. He was given chances… but for what? We can piece together what happened to Dad in his final moments, but we just don't know who and why.

His attackers found him somehow, went ahead and took his life on the bank of the river. Why didn't they just dump his body in the river instead of leaving it there though? Knowing that river, the chances of finding his body would be pretty slim. They could've been in a hurry, but then why? They probably just didn't care. Or maybe they thought the river would eventually sweep him away. Either way, it's a big mistake on their part.

I tried to get some sleep but I was restless. The possibilities with this case kept me up. I decided to just look at old newspaper articles. A few cases might get me to forget about my dad's case long enough to get me to sleep. When I was exploring, something in recent news caught my eyes. Looks like a big drug bust went down. The force had a few of their own keeping an eye on some kid new on the block but sure enough had connections and played like he was really big. They were right, that one kid led them to their bust. Not much detail, but I suppose the cops didn't want names mentioned.

I yawned at the end. Maybe I'll get some sleep tonight.

I was wrong.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky Agua.<strong>


	35. Chapter 35

Sonic's POV

It's near Christmas… I still get the nightmares. They don't happen as often though. Some nights I can enjoy a dreamless sleep. With Amy, sometimes I'll just be out within a few seconds of just sitting down with her. Amy doesn't complain, actually she's managed just fine without me tutoring anymore. I guess she just needed some tips to get the hang of it. She still has me coming over though… and I guess it's because she knows I'll at least get _some _nice sleep. She just worries about me I guess and thinks this is her way of helping. She's at least keeping bags from forming under my eyes.

My teachers are getting worried a little. It seems my attention and work is lacking a bit. I'm barely able to keep a 3.5 average as of late… a little low, but I think I can pull through. Blake… is Blake, a few incidents here and there, kind of small but something odd about them… he hasn't gone after Tails… somehow it's like Tails doesn't exist. It rattles my brain. We haven't gotten any word of anything big and in all honesty… it looks like Blake may be getting bored, especially with me since I don't pay much attention anymore. It's like I'm a zombie. We don't have our little word squabbles anymore… and he hasn't tried anything in three weeks. That's either really good or really bad.

Today I'm going in with Roger–says he's got something for me. I was walking alongside him to get to an interrogation room.

"You're not going to try to get anything out of me are you?" I looked up at him.

"Well, son… I may have to."

"What do you mean?"

He opened the door to the room and waved for me to go in. I went in and sat in one of the chairs.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

"Well, I don't drink coffee, so got any water?"

He chuckled. "I'll be right back."

He left leaving me there. It was kind of weird… like I was already in a jail cell… or in the waiting area to the office. Either way… I got a pretty uneasy feeling. Something was about to go down… I wasn't so sure if I was going to be ready for it. That's what scared me… not knowing if I would make it. I yawned out of being tired.

When he came back, he handed me a cup of water while saying, "Here ya go Sonic."

"Thanks." I took it and took a sip while he sat down. I noticed he had a file in his hands. "So, what's up?"

He sighed and opened up the file. "This." He pulled out an envelope.

"What is it?"

"A letter." He handed it to me. "It's from your father to you."

I looked at him and then at the envelope. Dad wrote to me? The envelope had my name on it in black ink.

"We're going to let you see it before taking it as evidence if it's helpful to us."

"So you're going to leave it up to me to see if you can use it?"

He nodded. "That's the idea Sonic."

I mashed my lips together and just took a pause while looking in a random direction before opening the envelope. I opened it up and took the letter out.

_Dear Sonic,_

_I know that by the time you read this I'll be dead and gone. I don't expect you to give my funeral much attention or any sympathy from you. I know that you hate your old man, and believe me, looking back at it, I hate myself for what I did. You're my son and I was the worst father there ever was. I can't change what I did, but I can at least tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything that happened and I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you face to face Sonic. I would have but I may have ended up putting you in more danger than you would know. I'm not sure if you'll forgive me for what I did, but I had to let you know that I'm sorry and that I know I was a complete _(I'd rather not share that). _If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, honor my final wish and grow up to be someone great. I love you son… I may not have ever showed, but I do love you and Shadow. Bye Sonic. _

When I finished it, I just stared at it before just slamming it down on the table. I felt tears reach my eyes. What the hell? What am I crying for? He's not your father. Ryan is more of a father than he ever was… So why do I feel all… teary eyed? It doesn't make sense. Damn it all. He doesn't deserve my sympathy. He doesn't deserve my forgiveness. The bastard can go to hell. But… why does it sound like Dad… wasn't a bad guy? I didn't get any sense of falseness in the letter. He actually sounded like an average person…

"Sonic?" I looked up at Roger.

"I just, I need a moment by myself."

"I can't let you leave," he told me with a sense of sorry in his voice.

"Just leave me in here for a bit." I didn't look at him. I wiped my eyes while he got up.

"All right then Sonic, I'll be back in a few."

He left and I was there thinking. Dad wrote an apology letter to me… He's gone and forgiving him now won't do him any good. Why should I forgive him anyway? He did nothing but make my life miserable… even when we left him. He left a mark on me and it still burns. But maybe he changed… he took the time to write a letter to me saying he's sorry. I don't ever remember seeing dad anywhere near a piece of paper nor a writing utensil. Plus, he didn't tell me who was after him. The letter ultimately doesn't help him out in any way. He knew he was going to die and was just giving me his final words even though he knew I probably would just toss it aside.

And I would have… at any time before I met Amy. I've changed thanks to her. I'm not the same kid I was before… a loner, a rebel without a cause… a sad little boy. I was filled with a lot of hate towards the world. She changed that. She and her brand of cuteness and empathy. She helped me reach out. I'll forever be in debt to her. But I digress.

Looking back at the letter and bantering back and forth with myself trying to keep calm and make sense of it–I think Knuckles' gift is doing its stuff– I realized something. I have no clue as to what my dad's state was right before he sped off. And what about Shadow or Ma? Why did he only write to me… or did he?

When Roger came back he asked, "Well Sonic?"

"Nothing, it's just an apology letter, but listen, did you find anything to my mom or brother?"

"Yes, actually we brought your mom in as well as made a call to your brother. They'll get there's too." So he's apologizing to all of us…

My other thought came to me and I got back into my detective mode. "You said my dad was staying at a friend's house, right?"

"Right, why?"

"Did you get to speak to him?"

"Yes, I was actually going tell you what we found out."

"Well, fire away." I practically demanded it out of him.

"Looks like the hedgehog you remembered completely clashes with the one that was murdered."

"What?" I just stared at him having a–what the fuck moment.

"Your father was getting off the drugs, smoking and women. He even got a job as a mail carrier. Your dad had a real good friend to help him get his life back on track after you all left him."

I sat there not looking at him. Dad was a changed hedgehog? That certainly would explain the delicacy to the letter. Dad really is sorry then… Dad really wants to apologize…

"Sonic, you okay son?"

I looked at him. In a flash I saw my father… with a sad face… I blinked and then he was gone. My mind started to wonder… what if dad… found us? What if he came and… everything would be okay? What if he was finally going to be that father that I needed while I was still in that hell house? What if we finally got to do normal father son stuff like go fishing or something?

I felt the tears in my eyes… What the hell dad? You leave a letter knowing that I might just turn the other way… Well I'm better than that. I'm not the monster you were. I'm not going to be happy… but I don't want to be sad either… I need to do something… but what?

Why did you have to make it worse? I already didn't know what to make of your murder… now I don't know what to do with this damn letter.

What can I do?

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky Agua<strong>


	36. Chapter 36

**Warning: ****Especially to you, ghosthead8503. I actually cried while writing this one... so breaking out the tissues might be a good idea.**

**Oh and it's dawned on me and I feel bad I didn't give credit sooner. Um, shout out to kegger98 for helping me reach into this whole father murder mystery arc to the story. **

**bearvalley3365: Oh Sonic'll will do a lot of thinking all right. It doesn't end here either.**

**Everyone: Sorry I haven't been quite as active as I would have wanted. By active, I mean, acknowledging what you all have had to say about the story.**

**And another thing before I wrap this up, that confusion you guys are feeling... just let's me know I'm right on the money with this story. And it's not over yet... not by a lot.**

**Anywho on with the show.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

I ran home… Well, actually, I made a stop before going home. I ran around the cemetery looking for his grave. Not exactly sure why though. I just let my legs take me wherever to think. A small one caught my eye.

_Here lies Julian the Hedgehog_

_Father, Son, and Friend_

I got down on my knees. _Dad? _I reached down and touched the marker. His letter in its envelope was in my other hand. Why am I here? Why did my legs take me here? Does this have to do with my dream?

"Sonic?"

I turned back to find Ryan with a bouquet in his hands.

"Ryan?"

"What are you doing out here all alone? And without a proper coat at that?" He started to take his jacket off.

"No, I'm fine. I always just go through winter with a scarf." I held it in my hands. It was green, Granny knitted it for me.

"Nonsense." He wrapped his coat around me. And he kneeled down with me.

"Thanks." My voice was rather flat though.

He ruffled my quills. "No problem." He smiled at me, but I didn't smile back. I looked at my dad's grave marker not knowing what the hell I was thinking… or rather, what my sub-conscience was thinking. "So… you didn't tell me why you're here."

I looked at him kind of sad and kind of neutral. "I could ask you the same thing."

He looked at me with a certain understanding. He sighed. "Well, I'm here for this guy." He gestured with the flowers in his hand. He placed them in front of the marker. Before I could react he went on, "He was a friend of mine. Met him in high school… lost contact, met him again when he was trying to rob me. He was a broken hedgehog. Wife left him along with his kids… I helped him get on his feet. He would have moved out, but…" I saw the tears in his eyes. "But some bozos killed him." I saw him wipe his tears.

"You…" Ryan was his friend.

"Me…" He looked at me confused.

"Ryan, he's my dad." I pointed at his grave.

The shock on his face would have matched mine had he given me the chance to react from before. "What?"

"He's my dad… or he _was_ my dad."

"Then…" He ran his hand through his quills.

"Yeah… you're dating the ex-wife of a bad hedgehog you helped give a second chance." I don't know if I wanted to make him laugh or scorn him. It sounded more like I was back in detective mode.

I could see his body language. He couldn't believe it. Then he looked at me… with sort of happy and sad eyes. "Are you going to forgive him?"

That took me by surprise. I looked at the grave… how can I forgive him? After all that he's done…

"He really was sorry, Sonic."

I snapped my head back towards Ryan. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I should know… he talked so much about you… his little boy."

Little boy? I felt tears.

Ryan sadly smiled at me. "Yeah, he never gave me any names, but he did tell me about it all… what he did… what he did after you left him… how sorry and guilty he felt…" He was getting teary eyed too. "How he wished he had treated you better. He wanted to talk to you Sonic… you, Shadow, and your mom… Had I known I…" He shook his head.

"Would you still like my mom?" The thought came to me like I was about to panic but I still felt like I was interrogating him. If he left my mom because of this then I'd hate him for causing my mom so much pain… maybe almost as much I hated my own father for a good chunk of my life.

"Like? I don't like your mother Sonic." He brought me closer to him and placed his hand on my head. "I love your mother… I love you and Shadow too." He brought over his other arm and hugged me. I cried… and cried into his chest. "I would love you all no matter what."

"And my dad?"

"He would've understood. I also know he would've finally been a father to you if you gave him the chance."

"What if I didn't want him to be my dad?" I choked… still feeling that detective mode.

I heard Ryan sigh. "He would've been heartbroken… I'd help him and then he'd move on."

"Really?"

"Really." He pulled away and held onto my shoulder. "He loved you Sonic." I wiped the tears from my eyes. "And even though we can't change what happened, we can still make it better."

"I can't forgive him Ryan." Knowing what he meant.

"Yes you can." He brought his other hand and placed it on my shoulder. "You need to Sonic, otherwise you'll still be bitter towards a dead hedgehog. You don't forgive someone because they need it… you do it because you need it. It's just going to fester inside you like it has for so many years… and what about Amy?"

"Amy?" I wasn't sure where he was going with that.

"Yeah, Amy. I know you're just kids right now, but trust me… this is eventually going to affect your relationship with Amy and the worst thing to happen is that she leaves you Sonic."

I shook my head slowly. "Amy…"

"Look inside yourself Sonic. You won't be okay unless you let go…"

"I… I can't." I slumped and brought my hands to my face. "Even if I wanted to… how?"

He brought me into another hug. For more than a moment… for the first time in my life… I had a dad.

"It's okay Sonic… I know what you went through was hard… it's going to be hard to let go."

"So… you're not mad?" I had the notion he might be. I mean I can't forgive a friend of his he was visiting at his grave.

"No…" I heard the confusion in his voice. "You're going to need time, Sonic."

"Ryan?" I looked up at him.

He smiled at me, "Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime Son."

I had another vision of my dad. He looked down at me with a sad smile. When I blinked I saw Ryan again.

"Come on, let's get you home." He got up.

I would have told him that I could get back on my own, but… I felt like… well not to humor him but… I needed someone right now… I needed a dad… with any luck… Ryan might be my new dad.

When I got up, he slicked his arm around my shoulder and we started walking out of the cemetery.

"You can ride shotgun if you want."

I chuckled. "Shadow _never_ lets me ride shotgun."

"Well, he's not here." He looked down at me and smiled. "Here's your chance."

I saw him take out a set of keys, he pressed a button and his car unlocked.

"A beauty ain't she?"

"Oh please tell me you didn't give it a name," I whined.

"I would, but I'd be lying." He smiled goofily at me.

"I was afraid of that," I said flatly.

He laughed.

Before we drove off… I looked out the window and looked out in the direction of Dad's grave…

Bye Dad…. I'll be back, okay? Maybe I'll even forgive you when I do.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky 'The Fox' Agua <strong>


	37. Chapter 37

**Note: The following chapter does contain song lyrics. Annabelle nor I (Sky Agua) own any of the lyrics. It is owned by musical group The Backstreet Boys.**

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><p><em><strong>On that note, I went to see the Backstreet Boys concert and it was AMAZING! Ohmagosh. And Jesse McCartney was there too. *Sqeals* I love their new album and I really love this Christmas song plus I think we all need to step away from the bit of sadness from my last chapter with something a bit more up lifting so… here is the result of a Backstreet Boys fan girl.<strong>_

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

While we were heading to the house, it started to snow… a lot.

"Did it say on the forecast that a storm was coming?" Ryan asked.

"Do they ever?"

He smirked. "You really have it in for the weatherman, don't you Sonic?"

"Let's just say he didn't keep his word."

"You were counting on a snow day one time or other weren't you?"

"How did…"

He laughed lightly. "The same thing happened with me and my brother when we were kids… a lot actually. So yeah, I know where you're coming from Sonic." He glanced at me. I smiled.

"Hey Ryan?"

"Yeah Sonic?"

"When you saw my mom for the first time, how did you feel?"

"Like I was back in an old school play, I was nervous out of my mind."He chuckled. "I was never much of an actor anyway."

"How about when you talked to her?"

"I fumbled a lot… but after she said a few things, you know the whole welcoming speech and what not, well… I wasn't so nervous anymore… she actually seemed a little nervous too."

I smiled as I imagined Ma nervous.

"Why asking?"

"Just curious."

He glanced at me with a look like he was interrogating me. "Well let me ask you a few things."

"Um, okay."

"How did you feel when you saw Amy for the first time?" I had a feeling he'd ask that… but how do I answer him? I had a feeling he'd knew if I was lying, but I also knew that he wouldn't pry… but he answered truthfully so it's only fair that I do too.

"I felt bad. I had to push this girl away."

"What?" He looked at me confused before looking back at the road.

I sighed. "Look, I was bitter and I couldn't really have a friend without a bully torturing them and me."

"So you pushed everyone away?"

I sighed. "Yeah."

"Then how is she your girlfriend now?"

"Simply put… my mom made me hang out with her the next day and well… I just couldn't deny her."

I heard him giggle. "That's possibly the sappiest thing I've ever heard come from a thirteen year old."

"You can thank Amy for that. Actually you can thank Amy for something else."

"What's that?"

"For me not trying to drive you away." I smirked.

I laughed at the look on his face. "Oh, come on Sonic, you wouldn't…"

"I don't know. But Amy sure insured it."

"Looks like I owe Amy then huh champ?"

"Big time." I smirked.

"What do you think I can do to thank her?" He smirked back at me.

"Mmm, let me think about it. I'll get back to you." Then there was a jolt.

"Whoa!" I saw the panicked look on Ryan's face. The car swerved a bit before stopping at the corner of my street. "You okay Sonic?" He turned to me with worried eyes.

I saw my dad with that face before I blinked him away. I looked at Ryan… I saw what my dad should be and should've been. "Yeah, I'm fine. No worries."

He sighed. "Sorry about that. Normally, that doesn't happen." He got the car moving again.

"It's okay."

He smiled… kind of. I think he was still shaken by the whole losing control of the car thing.

The snow sure was piling on.

"Think you'll stay for a bit?"

"Maybe until this snow stops." I could hear the worry in his voice. He parked and we made our way to the door. Before we could open it though, Ma opened it up with a worried look on her face.

"Oh, Sonic." She knelt down and hugged me. She started stoking my head and I hugged her back. "Oh, thank goodness you're safe."

"I'm fine Ma."

"Oh, good, because you're in big trouble Little Mister." She pulled away and looked at me sternly.

I groaned, "Can you please punish me when we're inside?"

"Oh… right." I saw her flush a little. "Come on in, both of you." We stepped inside and Ma closed the door.

"Sonic!" I looked and saw Amy coming towards me. She pounced on me and I nearly fell. "Oh Sonic, I was so scared," She cried into my shoulder. I held her and stroked her back.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here now."

She pulled away a little and she… slapped me.

"Ow!" I held my cheek in my hand. "Jeez, what was that for?"

"For being an idiot, you had us worried sick Sonic." She pointed at me.

"I needed some time to myself, is that so much to ask?" I held my hands out as if shrugging.

"You could've said something." She folded her arms over her chest.

"No, I couldn't have. You don't know what happened so do yourself a favor and butt out."

"Sonic!" I heard Ma yell.

I saw the tears in Amy's eyes but she kept an angry face. "You know, I'd probably have a better understanding if you'd just tell me what's wrong."

I sighed. She had me there. I took a deep breath and took a second to calm down. "I'm sorry Amy, I just had a little… meltdown today and I really need someone right now." I held out my arms to her hoping she'd just hug me.

"You should've just said so." She gently gave me the hug I needed. I nuzzled her and she nuzzled me back.

"I probably would have if you didn't slap me."

She stopped and looked up at me. "I'm sorry about that Sonic. I was just…"

"I know." She smiled at me. "It's okay." I gave her another squeeze. I heard a click. I looked and I saw Ryan with his phone out. "Really?" He cannot be serious.

"I couldn't help it." He shrugged.

"They _are_ cute together, aren't they?" I looked in the other direction to see Amy's moms.

"Oh, hey Mrs. Rose and eh, Mrs. Rose," I said kind of nervously.

Amy took my hand and squeezed it. I looked at her and she was smiling. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Hey Ma, I'm going to…" My brother came down and trailed off when he saw me. "Sonic!" He came down and picked me up. "Oh, little brother." I heard him sigh of relief. "You… jerk!" Oh _great_. He pulled me away and held me at a distance. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, are ya happy?" He glared at me… but I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Okay." I shouted a little. "Just so I get it through everyone's heads, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you all worry. Just don't be mad at me okay? I had a pretty rough day."

"You had a rough day?" Shadow looked at me in disbelief.

I brought out the envelope that had the letter from Dad. I put it in the pocket of Ryan's jacket when we made it to his car. "Yeah." He looked at the envelope in shock before setting me down. "I did and can we please just… not think about it." Shadow, Ma and I shared a look and nodded.

"Hang on a minute," Ryan said before looking at Ma. "There's something I think you should know."

"Wait, Ryan." He turned towards me. "You sure now's the time?"

"It's going to be gnawing at me until I tell her and well, it can't make anything worse."

"What are you talking about?" Ma looked from me to Ryan a few times.

Ryan sighed. "I'd rather we be alone." Ma studied him. "Please Elizabeth." Ma looked away from him before sighing.

"Follow me." She led him upstairs.

In my head, I wished him luck.

"Sonic?" I turned to Amy. She had a worried look.

"There's nothing to worry about Amy."

"You always say that." The cheeriness to her voice was gone.

I sighed again. "Amy, I just want to forget today okay? I don't want to talk about it right now."

She got a look of understanding and disappointment. "Okay." She nodded.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Mrs. Rose asked… the hedgehog one.

We all agreed that we needed it. Sure would be nice right now. I left Amy to hang up the jacket and then made my way to her on the couch. She came close and leaned on me. Naturally I wrapped my arm around her while she rested her head on my chest. I heard another click. I looked over at Shadow who… had his phone out.

I looked at him. "Seriously bro?"

"You can't blame me Sonic."

"He does have a point." Mrs. Rose agreed… the cat one.

I somewhat groaned while Amy giggled. She stopped resting on me but kept herself close to me. Eventually we turned on the TV and a Christmas special was well underway. When the hot chocolate came, Ma and Ryan still hadn't come down. I wasn't worried though. We all would've heard any yelling or something. It's not the walls so much as it is that my Ma makes it a point for you to know she's angry.

When she finally came down I saw the tears in both their eyes. Looks like they both just broke down. I took the guess that Ryan was crying over the loss of his friend, Ma though… I guess it was just out of shock. She didn't know what do but saw Ryan crying so… she joined in.

"Ms. Hedgehog?" Amy asked looking at Ma.

"I'm fine. Everything's okay." She somewhat sighed somewhat groaned. "It's been a hectic day is all."

I think I can say for all of us, it's been emotional and confusing. It's Christmas time… we shouldn't feel like this… We should all be coming together and counting our blessings. I wanted to do something to help us out a bit… that's when I thought of something. I smiled.

"Uh, I'll be right back." I sped up to my room grabbed me acoustic guitar and raced back down.

"Sonic?" They all looked a bit confused at me.

"It's Christmas time. I figured a song might get us back into it."

I started to play and sing. The grown females in the room perked up since they recognized it. You see, Ma started humming it, I asked what it was and it was a new song by the Backstreet Boys… I took a listen to it. Seemed like a good song for the time being._  
>Frost grows outside the window<br>First kiss under the mistletoe  
>Oh Oh, Oh Oh<br>Bells chime inside a steeple  
>Open the doors see the people sing<br>Oh Oh, Oh Oh_

_And when the snow is falling down, down, down  
>You know that Santa's back in town, town, town<br>That's when it's Christmas time again_

_La da la da da da da, la da la da la la, it's Christmas time again!_

_La da la da da da da, la da la da la la, it's Christmas time again!_

By this time, everyone had perked up. Ma and the Roses sang along with me. I walked up to Amy while playing and singing. She smiled, got up, and planted a kiss on my cheek.

We continued…

_I've been checking my list twice  
>Got plans to give you your gift tonight<br>Oh Oh, Oh Oh_

_Wake up under a lit tree  
>One wish came true you're here with me<br>Oh Oh, Oh Oh  
>Yeah<em>

_And when the snow is falling down, down, down  
>You know that Santa's back in town, town, town<em>

_That's when it's Christmas time again_

_La da la da da da da, la da la da la la, it's Christmas time again!_

_La da la da da da da, la da la da la la, it's Christmas time again!_

I looked around at the smiling faces. Now this is Christmas. We repeated the chorus a few more times before it ended.

It felt good. I played to lift everyone's spirits a bit. In return, I felt better about today.

We all spent the night in the living room. Okay well, Amy's moms and Ryan did. Amy spent the night with me. I mean, she wasn't going to pass it up. And to tell you the truth, I needed her. For the first time in weeks, I earned a full night's rest with a happy dream. Course I can't remember it but, I'm pretty sure it was nice.

Either way, I felt better…and before I dozed off, I counted my blessings… at the top… was Amy.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky 'The Fox' Agua.<strong>


	38. Chapter 38

**All right people, this will be my last update for a few days, maybe a week. But trust that this little break is just to let me gather up my ideas and place them accordingly for the next few chapters. **

**SnowyDawn17: It did feel a little odd writing it, but when you think a song's that good you don't really take into account the time of year. I catch myself listening to NSYNC's Christmas albums in the summer. **

**Bearvalley3365: The fun is just getting started my friend. **

**Kegger98: Oh, this is far from over my friend. It's going past forty, maybe even fifty. You know, I'm making this up as I go along, so… yeah I have no clue when this'll be done, but I'll try to have it done by summer's end.**

**Everybody: I love the SonAmy cuteness of it all too and the moments don't stop here. **

**On with the show…**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

"Sonic, Sonic wake up!"

I felt Amy shake me. I groaned. "I'm up. I'm up. Jeez Amy." I sat up.

"Sonic, it's a snow day!" She exclaimed with a grin. I perked up at the idea.

"Seriously?"

She nodded and took my hand. "Come on you got to see." She yanked me out of bed and brought me to the front door. She opened it and I saw the spectacle that was snow pretty much covering every inch possible. I saw snow pile up high enough that you couldn't see the tires on cars anymore. The snow in the trees glistened. The whole world seemed… pure. Like it would be in the mind of a child.

"Isn't it pretty Sonic?"

Before I could answer Ma said, "It is pretty Amy, but I would appreciate it if you would please close the door." We turned behind us to see Ma in a rather… silky night gown. I noticed she had on some slight make up and her quills were well brushed. Something tells me Ryan is in for a surprise. For some reason, I didn't feel overprotective anymore over Ma. Ryan's a good guy and he loves us…

"All right Ms. Hedgehog." Amy closed the door.

"You two can play in the snow later, but right now, Amy, you might want to change out of Sonic's shirt and shorts."

Oh yeah, I forgot Amy used clothes of mine that didn't quite fit me anymore to sleep in.

Amy nodded. Ma smiled and walked into the living room.

"Does your mom usually look that pretty when she wakes up?" Amy asked.

I smiled a bit at her. "Nope."

She had this look on her face that told me she was thinking really hard… then her face gave this aha look. "Oh…"

I chuckled at her. "Uh-huh."

"You're not going to stop her?" She smirked at.

"Nope."

She smiled. "That's a good Sonic." She patted my head.

"I'm not a dog, Amy." I felt rather degraded for a moment.

She giggled.

"Everybody! Breakfast!" Mrs. Rose called out.

"Finally!" Amy took my hand and started leading me to the kitchen. I just let her pull me until I saw an interesting scene: Ma was going towards the kitchen rather sad and Ryan was looking relieved… hmm…

I stopped walking and told Amy, "You go on ahead, Amy. I'll be in soon." She was about to protest but I said, "I just gotta talk to Ryan for a bit. It's guy stuff and what not."

She had this look of disbelief but nodded in understanding anyway. "Okay then." She walked into the kitchen while I made my way towards Ryan.

"Hey, what happened?" I asked him.

"Huh?" He looked at me confused.

I sat down next to him. "Um, my Ma was all dolled up and she left with a frown on her face and you're here looking like you just dodged a bullet. What happened?"

I saw the nervousness in his face… a bit of guilt in there too… and… embarrassment… Exactly _what_ _is_ up with him?

"It's nothing you need to worry about Sonic." He shook his hand in front of me as well as his head.

"My mom looks sad, of course I'm going to worry." I tried to play it a bit cute, but with this voice, I gave it up afterwards.

"Look, she has nothing to do with it."

"Oh really?" I was getting a bit pissed at him.

"Listen Sonic, I don't think I need to discuss my behavior with you."

I glared at him. "Oh, you're going to sing little birdie. No one leaves my mom upset on my watch. Not anymore. I can give the word and you can be tossed out right now."

"Sonic," He groaned as he let his face be covered by his hand and shaking it back and forth not believing the words coming out of my mouth. Well, I can't believe that he's acting all secretive and protective.

"I mean it Ryan. Either you come clean or you're out of here."

"This isn't happening," He said to no one in particular.

"You mean being interrogated by a thirteen year old? Could be worse you know." I kept at him, he'll talk if it's the last thing I do.

He got up, but I wasn't about to let him walk away, if he loved Ma as much as he let on he wouldn't let me end it for them with just a few words of suspicion. "Leave now, and you'll be showed the door in a matter of minutes."

He turned to me still not believing what I'm saying. "I thought you liked me Sonic." I heard the hurt in his voice and my heart sank a little…

I sighed. "Look, I'm just looking out for Ma, I told myself that if I smelled anything fishy I'd get to the bottom of it. If you tell me and it's nothing I should be concerned about, I'll let it go. But if you refuse to say anything, whatever it is you're hiding, I'll find out and I'll spill."

"I haven't done anything wrong Sonic."

"Then why don't you spill? If you have nothing to hide, then you can tell me and I'll keep quiet. I don't want to conduct my own investigation on my mom's boyfriend."

I heard him groan. "Sonic, this isn't funny." He started to look annoyed at me.

"I agree." I patted down on the couch next to me. "Now why don't you tell me why you're acting all suspicious like?"

"This is unbelievable," Again, to no one in particular. He began to pace around.

"You know, the longer you don't talk, the more suspicious I'll get."

He let out a sound of frustration. He knows I'm serious. He knows that I can ruin his relationship with my mom… granted it would take time, but it won't be a pretty sight and he knows it.

"Okay." He had this pained look on his face. He came and sat down. He covered his face in his hands before turning to me with that pained expression. "The truth of the matter is Sonic… I've never had a relationship before…"

I looked at him funny. "What are you saying, you've never been on a date?"

He sighed. "I've asked girls to dances before but that was it."

"So… when my ma came to you… you freaked out?" Is that what he was trying to tell me? I am all confused here.

He didn't look at me. "Well, yes. No one has ever approached me that way before…"

Was he saying… You've got to be kidding me. "Ryan, are you…"

"Yes, Sonic." I couldn't read him then.

I didn't know how to react. "Oh."

He took a deep breath. "Yeah, this, your mom… it's all new to me okay?" He finally looked at me.

I nodded. "I got it and I won't say anything."

"Not that it would make any difference. I'm going to have to come clean eventually."

I patted his shoulder. "Look on the bright side, you'll be with someone who knows what she's doing." I saw the look of shock on his face and the blush on his cheeks.

"Sonic!" He looked at me in disbelief.

"What? I thought I already established that I'm practically a mini adult." He knew my own _past_ before I even met him. He should know I knew things _way_ before I should have.

He sighed. "Look, just don't say things like that okay?"

"Whatever you say Ryan, but you know you'll have to give in to her eventually."

"Sonic!"

I got up and kind of laughed. "Oh come on Ryan, I'm not a little kid you know?"

"You're still only thirteen." He got up and followed me.

I laughed the incredibly awkward situation off. I never thought I would have this kind of talk with Ryan. The good news is, he's still clean. There's nothing to worry about. It still kind of surprised me though. I thought that Ryan would've at least dated and had a serious relationship going before meeting my mom. But this… this was way out there. I wonder _why_ though. He should've been a good enough looking guy in high school, college, and medical school. He's nice and definitely the kind of guy a girl would want to bring home… Well, I'd better just let it go. That's a part of his history I'd rather not know.

Later that day, Amy and I met up with our friends at Cream's house. Behind her house was the best hill for some sledding. I'll admit, I've never actually went out sledding before. I never had a sled and well, I don't know… always felt lonely being out there by myself. Christmas was supposed to be a time when we all come together. Typically no one ever came near me, back then. Now, I don't have to be alone on a snow day.

"You've really never been sledding before Sonic?" Amy asked as we climbed up the hill. Her toboggan was the perfect size for two riders.

"Nope."

"Oh, it's so much fun. You'll love it." I'm loving how she's so bright eyed and excited… but she doesn't need to know that. Then again, she probably already knows it.

When we got to the top, I saw Tails and Cream about to go down together on her sled. I smiled at the scene. Looks like those two are coming along very nicely, but still I see them sort of shy away embarrassed. I felt Amy tug on my arm and pointed down behind her on the toboggan.

I sat down and we went down the hill. It was a bit different from going down a slide but it was way more fun. If only Amy and I didn't end up buried under a pile of snow at the end. We sled right into a pile I didn't know was that thick. I climbed out and then helped Amy out.

"You two okay there?" We turned around to see Will with Rachel.

"Fine, a little cold but fine," I told them.

"That was a pretty wicked wipe out though," Rachel commented.

"Thanks… I think," Amy said.

Rachel smiled. "Well, now you know you should steer clear from that now." She pointed at the pile. There was a hole with the toboggan still in there.

"I've got it." I pulled it out.

The rest of the day… well, I can't say it went without a few of us falling off while going downhill. No one was hurt though. It was fun while it lasted but a group of kids can only be out in the cold for so long. We came inside and had some hot chocolate while we watched some Christmas films. It got me thinking of a way of helping out my little buddy… and possibly Will. He's been around Rachel an awful lot since we met her. It might be good for him to have a girl around he cares about and that cares about him too. Rachel seems to like Will just fine, but I don't think she's… smitten with him or something.

I looked over at the tree. Christmas…a plant…the mistletoe. Perfect. And the party will be at my house, so I think, I can plant those little plants in the right spots to make this happen.

"Hey Sonic?"

"Hm," I got my head out of the clouds. "Yeah, Tails."

"Can we talk?" He seemed off…

"Sure," I told him before turning to Amy, "Be right back Ames."

"Okay." She nodded. I kissed her cheek before following Tails outside.

"What's up?" I saw him pacing around.

"It's Cream." He was still pacing and looking down at the ground.

Well this was a delight… I think. He looked so… lost and out of place though. "What about her?"

"You know what I'm trying to say." He looked at me with sort of angry, confused and sad eyes.

I smiled. "Buddy, I told you just spend to some alone time with her and it'll come naturally."

"I can't, I'll get so nervous and tongue tied. I can't think with her close to me as it is."

I sighed. "Tails you're a genius… an inventor and mechanic. Use it."

"What, do you mean make her something?" He came to me.

I nodded. "I told you before, just be yourself. Inventing and science is a part of you dude. Use what you know, it'll come and then you'll have Cream in your arms in no time."

"But I don't want to just jump into it Sonic."

"You won't if you keep your mind away from unnecessary thoughts."

He looked at me kind of weirdly.

I sighed. "Look, just stop thinking and start feeling."

"You do realize that's like asking a bird to stop flying."

"I mean stop second guessing yourself." This was getting frustrating. "Look, you like Cream and she likes you too. All you need is a good idea and a few seconds of bravery."

"Is that really all it's going to take?" He asked.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. And believe me when I say, if you can't do it on your own, I'll take matters into my own hands."

"What?" He looked at me scared.

"Oh come on Tails, if you can't push yourself then I'm going to give you that push for you."

"You wouldn't."

"To hell I won't, do you not realize how frustrating it's been seeing you two coming together and then just shying away from each other." I took my hand back.

"Why do you care so much?" Tails asked with a funny look.

That… caught me off guard. Honestly, I'm not sure if just being his friend gave me enough to care about this so much. I just can't escape the feeling… a need to bring them together. "I… guess I'm a sucker for a good love story." I wasn't sure what to say. I just need to get them together. It just bothered me to no end that they liked each other but neither was willing to step up and do something about it. Everyone deserves to have a special someone in their lives…

I was about to think and analyze my reasons when I heard, "Blake alert," from Tails.

Well that's just great. I turned around to find Blake with his guards at his sides. "Well, fancy seeing you two out here."

"We're on a sidewalk Blake, we can walk on it if we want to."

"Quite." He didn't seem too happy but seemed like he had something else on his mind. "If you would please excuse us, you're in the way." He wasn't exactly asking nicely or politely… but what else could we expect from a kid as polished as he is with a grudge against me. I looked at Tails and he nodded. We stepped aside. "Thank you, and… see you in school." I heard him laugh as he walked off. He's up to something all right.

Suddenly Knuckles came out, "Sonic, you're not going to believe this."

What are you up to Blake?

* * *

><p><strong>Edited by Sky 'The Fox' Agua.<strong>


	39. Chapter 39

**So, this will be a two parter. Sorry it took a while, but I needed a little break. Is it simple? Yes, but this is a bit out of my comfort zone and I think we all know how this will end, but how will it come to that ending starts here.**

**BlakcPetals23: I think we all would like a crack at Blake. But we do have to keep in mind that he has own issues. It's not like he deserves to be the punching bag for a mob or something.**

**IntoTheInferno343: Never really did cliffhangers. They just jump at random times. The detective thing is a bit of a challenge for me though.**

**Bearvalley3365: I mean I still have more ideas and they'll keep on coming. My challenge is to place the ones that I feel would work best and in their correct order. **

**Savvy0417: I haven't seen a single speck of that old rhyme since… well, okay I don't remember, but it's been a while.**

**Kregger 98: Just bear with it, okay, this arc is pretty much over.**

**Alesia: Well, you're about to find out.**

**Everyone: On with the show.**

* * *

><p>Sonic's POV<p>

I was with Will and Rocky as we watched Blaze the Cat open her locker.

"Is this where you kept the envelope?" I asked her ready to write everything she had to say.

"Yes." The envelope in question, was filled with donations to the school, and was kept by our Class President, Blaze. The big deal here was that money was supposed to go towards our luncheon.

"When did you notice that it was missing?" I asked her. I nodded towards Rocky to start dusting for fingerprints. We needed everything we can get, and if I can have to get a copy of everyone's fingers to find the perp, I'll do it.

_You see earlier today…_

I was called into Principal Folly's office. I was hoping I was being called in due to dramatic social improvement or something. I walked into his office. He wasn't facing me.

I stepped in cautiously and said, "You wanted to see me sir."

"Yes, Sonic, please close the door and have a seat."

I did and sat down in the chair I was too familiar with. I got a bad feeling in my stomach and when he turned around in his chair I knew what I was in for. He looked at me as if he was trying to find any truth in my body language. The thing of it is; he's always been wrong when reading me and Blake. He knows anyone can lie, and the evidence piled against me. Until now, I couldn't do much about it. I didn't have confidence in myself. Well, now, I'm not going down without a fight.

"I need to talk to you Sonic."

"I figured as much Sir."

"Have you… heard the news?" He studied me. I was going into my detective mode to try to keep my own body language in check. I don't want to squirm or seem hostile to him.

I looked at him, a white dog with a bit of gray fur to him. His eyes weren't as bright blue, but sure were deep. I could feel his eyes piercing through me, but I wouldn't let him know that. He wore a suit every day, today was no different.

"You mean the money that's gone missing, yes sir, why?"

"I hate to turn to you as prime suspect Sonic, but your past troubles lead me to–"

"Hold it." I felt myself getting angry, but kept my cool. "You're going to accuse me on the grounds of past offences?"

He looked at me funny.

I continued, getting a bit angry. "You don't know if I had anything to do with it. And in case you haven't noticed, I haven't been in this office once all year. Meanwhile, me and my friends have been the victims of practical jokes and continuous harassment."

"Sonic the Hedgehog I will not be sassed by you."

"And you also won't take some time to figure out who is behind these attacks."

"What attacks?" I could see the confusion and anger in his face.

Oh forget it. We'll show him soon enough. "Never mind, listen Sir, you can't just assume I had anything to do with it. There isn't any evidence that I had anything to do with it."

"Then do you know who did it?"

I shook my head. I had my suspicions but he wasn't going to like what I had to say. "I don't know Sir."

He let out a stressful breath. At this point, either we come up with the money, or we can kiss the luncheon goodbye.

"But Sir, would you let me solve it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let me investigate, and I'll find who did it," I said firmly. And maybe I can change his mind about me. If I can pull this off, I might be able to present the evidence against Blake to him with him a little more willing to listen to me.

He looked at me ready to laugh. "What, you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Look, just give me a chance to find the perpetrator. You have nothing to lose if I can't solve it."

"I also have nothing to gain."

"Letting me solve it might come up with more results than just going to the police. I doubt they would take much time to investigate a theft in a middle school."

He looked intrigued by the idea. He smiled and let out a laugh. "Oh, okay Sonic. I suppose you can play detective."

"Thank you Sir," I said with a slight smile. "I'm going to need full access to the labs and all the records on every student, if you please." I wasn't sure if I'll really need the access. Tails can get access to his parents' lab so that's no problem, plus he have his own gadgets and I think we can come up with some sort of plan to get at those records. However, the labs here are faster to get to, and if we're caught looking at the records and files without permission we'll get into some serious trouble. It's best to play it safe.

"What?" He looked rather shocked and confused.

"Relax, I'll be under supervision by Mr. Lobo, I promise." I just need to let him know first.

"Mr. Lobo?"

I smiled and kept playing it satisfied and looking like I actually know what I'm doing. "Uh-huh, he's a teacher I know we both trust."

He studied me curiously. "I suppose…," he shrugged then. "It really doesn't matter much anyway, a luncheon isn't necessarily so important, but we'll see what we can do."

"Like I said, there's nothing for you to lose sir."

"All right Sonic. I'll grant you access, but if this is just a scheme of yours, you'll be expelled, you got that?"

I nodded. "Yes Sir."

"Good, now get back to class."

At lunch, we got lucky and found Blaze and asked her for a few minutes. Tails and Melody went to the lab to see what they could find. Not every hallway has a camera looking out, but we might be able to find something to help us with other angles and such.

"I noticed that it was gone the day before yesterday. I just thought I might have buried it under all my belongings. Today is when its disappearance was confirmed."

"What time did you leave school?"

"Six as always." She shrugged.

"Did you talk to anyone about it going missing?"

She shook her head. "No, I never said anything, that's what really bugs me." I eyed her. I didn't see any falseness. If she didn't say anything, then the perp sent either many text messages or just one… possibly to the biggest gossip in this school… Rouge. I remember her freaking out and forwarding it to her friends… the other ones… as well as to other students that she really hasn't had too much contact with. Either way, the perp wanted to get the message out… and succeeded. I know where to turn to next… I mentally slapped myself for not looking into that text more that day.

But on with the questioning, "Does anyone else have accessed to your locker combination?"

"Just my Vice President and she's been out sick for a week."

"You sure she hasn't told anybody?"

She nodded.

"Has anybody on the student body seemed a little odd lately?"

"Not that I know of. We all had our hearts set on making sure we raised the money."

"Thank you for your time, Blaze."

She nodded. "Sure, if you can find that money Sonic, you'll be a hero."

I looked at her a bit shocked and confused. There that was again. "A hero?" I seriously did not see it coming.

She nodded. "Look, we've been busting our butts all year to raise that money, it's pretty stressful when the entire class is counting on you. And now, we're really pressed for time to earn it back… if we do anyway."

I looked at her and saw a cat who really needed my help. Suddenly, this wasn't about me proving that I'm not some punk kid who just causes trouble. This is about helping people.

After school, the boys hung back while I went to drop Amy off and Melody went to get Rouge's phone. When I got back, Tails filled me in with what they've found.

"So, it looks like we have a look at this guy." He ran the camera to a point where this person in a hood was going in the direction of Blaze's locker. "Definitely a student, but we can't get a good look on his face."

"He does have quite of a tail though." Whoever they were, they were a squirrel without a doubt. There weren't many squirrels in the school. One in particular came to mind. Richard, you're going down with your boss.

"It's likely that the thief is Richard then?" Will asked.

"Very," I replied. "But then we also have Mary, Alex, Ashley, Mark, and Clara." I listed the names and wrote them down. "However, we can count Mark and Ashley out, since their furs are completely different from the one we see here." I crossed out their names.

"Can't we take Clara out too? She hasn't been in school since she got the flu last week," Rocky said. Right, she's the Vice President taking leave from duty.

I crossed her name out too. "Then we're left with Richard, Mary, and Alex."

"Hey," Melody said as she came in. "Rouge doesn't have her phone."

We said words in disbelief. How does Rouge _not_ have her phone? She goes everywhere with that thing.

"I know, her parents grounded her and they have her phone locked up somewhere. She has no clue where they take her confiscated belongings."

I started to pace while they talked on their own. Okay, we know we can find the person who sent that text with Rouge's phone. Whoever the person is could be an accomplice, the mastermind, or some poor sap that didn't know their phone was being used. However, without a warrant we can't just go in there and bust the phone out. Not that I could get a warrant anyway. Who in their right mind would give a thirteen year old a warrant to the house of a very wealthy family? We can ask for the phone, but the parents may just think we're helping Rouge get her phone back. I sighed, I don't think we can follow this lead without even minor offences.

"All right, regroup." They all turned to me. I felt a little weird with all their attention on me. I started to think. "Okay, we're going to have to let this lead go, but we still have the prints." I turned to Rocky. "Did you already find the prints that belong to Blaze?"

He nodded. "Yup." He took his art project and placed it on the wall with some tape. He took a little laser and showed us the prints.

"I got quite a few prints, but only a few were very distinguishable." He pointed the laser to two prints that was above two others. He labeled them with Blaze's name. "These two obviously belong to Blaze." Then he encircled the three others on that paper. "With some luck, we can find our guy within those prints."

"Perfect." I lightly punched his arm. He smiled. "But we need to get a hold of Clara's prints to make sure we find the ones that belong to the thief."

"I can get them." We turned to Melody. "She lives just down the block from me anyway."

"Great." Don't you love it when a case comes together?

We all stayed to do a bit of digging. Will, Mr. Lobo and I went to look at those files and see which would likely pull it off as well as to look for a motive for other than helping Blake. There's a chance that this whole thing has nothing to do with Blake and I. If it is Blake who is behind this, I'll bring him down for this and for being nothing but a bully to me and my friends. If he isn't, then I make a new name for myself and I'll wait to get Blake another day. Right now, I just want to help the school. Everyone was looking forward to our luncheon and whoever wants to ruin it has another thing coming so help me.

I even took the liberty of asking the Principal to get prints from our squirrel suspects. We'll be able to match them up in no time.

Meanwhile, Tails, Rocky and Melody looked at some more footage to see where our suspect came from. We looked at the time and saw that the person went in well after the building was locked up for the night. Someone either broke in or had a key to open a door in the building. Blake would have access to a key, but I can't just assume it was him because I have a bone to pick with him. Someone could've gotten in through an open window or something.

Looking at the files, it all seemed that all these kids came from well polished families. Money didn't seem to be a concern for any of them. I did find that Clara has a tendency to get sick often though. She must have a weak immune system or something.

I got a call from Tails.

"_Get back to the lab, you might want to look at this."_

When we got back I saw that they looked painfully happy and proud. "Whatcha' got?"

"Take a look at this." Tails pointed at a screen. "We don't just have one person in on it. We have three."

I saw three figures come near the school but go out of sight at the side of building. We lose them after a bit.

"Do those tails look familiar?" Tails smirked. That was Blake's tail as well as Joe's. Granted it was a little covered. The tails on a ducks don't tend to be very long.

"Looks like our favorite trio are our prime suspects," I said with a smirk.

We had a few words along the lines of we have them now and such. It felt good for a case to come together like this. But we still need a motive. Why would Blake want the money for our luncheon? I looked into their files too. It seems they don't have any financial troubles either. Money isn't the reason here. I know that. Could this somehow be part of a plan to get back at me or something? I'm pretty sure he can fund it no problem. There's no need to steal from the school. So why steal that money?

"Hang on now guys." They looked at me like I was an alien. "I know it looks good, actually it looks too good." Their faces looked at me as realization hit their faces. "There's more going on here. We still don't know who sent that text. Why would Blake or anyone of them take the money? How did they know where to find it?"

They gave their sighs of disappointment.

"Melody, we still need those prints." She nodded. "Tails, carry on looking for anything else we can use against Blake when the moment comes tomorrow."

"Don't need to tell me twice."

"Rocky, I'm going to leave it up to you to handle those prints."

"No problem."

"Will?"

"Yes?"

"Got any predictions?" He has read these mysteries for longer than I have and is always sharp on details. He knows the way of a writer and whatever happens in one of those books can happen in real life. He'll come up with possible ways the story will unfold once he grasps characters, their personalities and actions. And his guesses always change with every clue and action done. In a way, it's like he's psychic. All he has to do is imagine he's reading another novel and he can predict scenarios that are possible for our little adventure.

"We'll catch him, but I think we'd better keep you wired Sonic."

"What?"

"There is the chance this is about you, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Blake also likes to talk."

"So…"

"When he thinks he has won, he will spill, and he will definitely gloat to you Sonic."

"Oh…" Right, I forgot he has a tendency to do that. I had to keep my own personal prejudices away to keep myself from jumping the gun.

We left the building on a good note. We knew what we had to do and soon we'll be able to get the money back safe and sound. I took a long way home I felt that I should treat myself a little. A little run in the snow. I wasn't thinking; I just ran and ran loving it. It even began to snow a little as I ran back home. It was such a pretty sight as I sped by. I came up to my house and slipped…

My speed made my practically fly and when I landed I felt a great pain coming from my foot.

I screamed in pain. I felt it go up and down my leg. Some tears came to my eyes, man it hurt. I held my leg and quickly realized that my ankle was the problem.

"Sonic?" I turned to see my mom standing outside the door.

"Help!"

"Oh, Ryan, get out here, stat!" She shouted into the house. I saw them come outside with worried faces.

Ryan came down to me and asked me, "Where does it hurt Sonic?" There was a sense of seriousness and concern in his voice; must be his doctor mode.

"It's my ankle."

He took my foot and moved it.

"Ow!"

"You might have twisted your ankle Sonic."

"Sonic!" We turned our heads to the Rose home. Amy and her mothers poked their heads out.

"I'm okay!" I shouted back.

"Hey what's going on?" Shadow came out in just a sweater.

"Sonic might have twisted his ankle," Ryan explained to him. He dug into his pocket and stood up. "Mind starting my car?" He held his keys to Shadow.

Shadow nodded, "Yeah, on it."

"Elizabeth," he turned to Ma, "Go make sure Amy doesn't lose her little head and then come meet us at the hospital."

"Okay," she nodded. But before she left, she kissed Ryan. "Keep my boy safe, ya hear?" She gave him a serious look before going back inside to bundle up a bit more. I saw a kind of confused kind of glad look on his face. I cleared my throat.

He looked down at me and I smiled. "I'm still here."

"Sorry son." He took me in his arms. Well this is new. I haven't been carried like this since I was a baby. He carried me to the car and settled me in.

Ryan took a look at me and well… he was right. I had twisted my ankle. No more running for me. Instead, Amy and I will be driven by her mom to school. I told her to drop Amy off first and that my friends could help into the school. I can't risk her helping me get out of the car.

When I was about to go to bed, Ryan and Ma came in had a little talk with me. Ma kissed my head good night and Ryan ruffled my quills. I drifted off to sleep knowing that I'll have a difficult day tomorrow.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky 'The Fox' Agua. <strong>


	40. Chapter 40

**All right people this is it… well for Blake anyway. Sonic's still got a few ends to tie up so this isn't over yet. **

**BlackPetals23: True that. It was just an example is all. **

**IntoTheInferno343: Well, now you don't have to.**

**Alesia: I'll be honest… I have no clue. If anything it'll be like something small… maybe an extended epilogue.**

**Kegger98: I have male cousins that refer to their mom as Ma so… yeah… Hey you gotta keep in mind I'm a girl writing from a boy's perspective. That's a challenge itself.**

**Bearvalley3365: I have no clue who they are so… I don't think so… But thanks for the compliment. **

**Rahmiyah: Before I forget, I took your suggestion.**

**Everyone: Enjoy.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Going into school the next day, well, it wasn't exactly easy. I didn't fall, but Rocky and Will did wobble while trying to help me. Tails carried my crunches and Melody had my book bag. For some reason she insisted on it. Oh well, I'm in not in the mood to say no to her. I felt… kind of a burden kind of helpless… I don't know exactly what it was, I was just glad that my friends were there to help me.

Walking down the halls, we got some looks… well I did anyway. It was a small cast, no big deal. I was glad that it wasn't something huge and that I didn't need a wheelchair. Sitting down all the time didn't sound like a good time for me. I shivered at the thought. It's one thing when I'm relaxing but I like to get up and move. I have to, otherwise I can't sleep. And we all know what happens when I can't sleep.

"Well, look on the bright side," Melody said. I could see the uncertainty in her voice.

"What bright side?" There wasn't one that I could see. I'm a sitting duck now. Blake will probably trip me to no end… and I don't think my face can take the floor so many times in one day.

"Um…" She thought before the look of inspiration hit her. She took out a marker out of her own bag. "We can sign your cast."

I looked at the marker and then down at my ankle. It did help me gain a brighter attitude so I said, "Maybe later."

She sighed, and then shrugged.

"Can I have my bag back? I can carry it fine." They already helped me get into the school. The rest I can handle myself.

I had to explain to every teacher what happened to me. Throughout the day… well people had taken noticed and actually showed some… sympathy… maybe just a tad in everyone or so. Either way, it… looked like they were breaking from Blake's grasp. I guess they didn't quite see me as a freak, but they saw a kid in crutches who clearly didn't want any trouble. Well, it's better than the freak part, but to be looked at as completely helpless didn't quite fit with me either. Oh well, we'll enlighten everyone soon enough.

At lunch we took off to the lab and ate there instead.

"So, did you get those prints Melody?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yup, it wasn't really easy either." She took them out of her bag.

"Mind if I take them?" Rocky asked. She nodded and handed the prints to him. He stopped eating and got up to place them on the sheet in the back. He turned in our direction and said, "I'll take a closer look in a bit, okay Boss?"

He was looking at me, but it took me a while to understand that he was referring to me. "I'm not your boss."

He came and sat back down. "It sure is starting to feel that way though."

I would've continued to deny it but I wanted to hear more from Melody. I had a notebook and pen ready for the occasion after we walked in and settled down. "So Melody, did you notice anything in particular?"

"She… well, she seemed so unwilling to give the prints to me."

"Well, what did you tell her?" I mean you just can't ask for prints for no apparent reason.

"I told her I needed fingerprints for an art project that I left to the last minute."

"And then?"

"She kept… stalling. Questioning me and getting kind of angry." I could clearly see the confusion in her face and not to mention she was very uncomfortable remembering what happened.

That got me thinking… "Anything else you noticed?"

"Yeah," she took a moment to shiver. "I saw a picture of Blake on her nightstand."

You can imagine that there was some coughing and choking among us. We gave her looks and words of disbelief. She only nodded. This just got weird. Eventually, we were able to get back to eating. Tails was done quickly and proceeded to wire my sweater like Will advised yesterday. Rocky went to work on those prints and Melody went to watch for more stuff we can use.

"How does it feel Sonic?"

"Mmm… I can't feel it really." He had it taped to the inside of my sweater.

"And we can't see it." He smiled. "Perfect."

"I don't believe it…" Melody said looking at the screen.

We came to her and saw what she was looking at. That was the day, Blake took Tails from me. I saw my little buddy get knocked unconscious by a bat to his head. They proceeded to shave bits of his fur off, especially the tips in his tails. They glued colorful feathers onto the tips of his tails and dumped pink paint, and glitter all over him and took him inside the pool building.

You see, Tails managed the boys' soccer team. He got an email telling him that an extra practice was scheduled… turns out he was tricked into showing up for them to attack him. I heard the next day that they placed him in the girls' locker room before the girls' swimming team found him.

Those boys were smart. I knew it was them but I could never get the evidence to prove it. Tails wasn't going to talk since he was scared out of his mind. So since then, no one has ever known who did it. But now, they'll get a good look at what those jerks did to my little buddy.

She paused the footage. We all turned to Tails, who had a blank expression his face.

"Tails?" I asked him.

He looked at me and… smiled? "We got him." He turned back to the screen. "After all these years… he's going down."

I was shocked at this reaction at first but then I smiled and ruffled his hair. Eventually we ended up in a group hug.

"Hey Rocky, did you find that print of our thief?"

He shook his head. "I'm still working on it."

I nodded in understanding. I heard my name called over the intercom. Hopefully it's to take those prints I requested.

"I'll be back in a bit. Rocky keep at it and Tails…" I turned to him. "You rest up." Out of all of us, he's the one who's spent most of the time getting the visual evidence we needed and got this place organized.

He smiled.

Before I walked out though, I asked Will, "Anything?"

He sighed, "This is it."

I left with those words in my head. I knew in my gut he meant I was about to get that confession… but I also saw a bit of sorrow in eyes. Something bad is going to happen and it's going to happen to me. I reached the principal's office knowing that when I would head back… I would end up who knows where.

I squirmed to get into his office. When he heard me shuffle he came quickly help me. "Thank you, sir."

He didn't exactly smile but I did see a bit of happy to help in his eyes along with some sympathy. "Not a problem Sonic." We walked further into his office.

He sat down and so did I. "Firstly, I'm sorry about what happened to you. I heard from the staff that you hurt your ankle."

"Yeah, it was one of those stupid kid moments. I'm fine though."

"I'm glad you're okay, now about those prints…" He took a file from his desk. "As requested."

"Thank you, sir." He handed the file to me.

"Exactly how is this…" I saw the laughter in his eyes, "going exactly?"

"Let's just say, it's got a surprising ending."

He wasn't smiling anymore.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, after today, you'll be looking at me differently." I let him let those words sink in.

"Sonic." He groaned. "If you're trying to accuse my son, you'll be greatly punished."

I kept my voice steady and without feeling… I was back in detective mode. "I know sir, but this time, I'm not only accusing, I'm exposing."

He slowly shook his head back and forth.

He was going to say something but I cut him off. "You said you'd give me a chance. And if I'm wrong you'll never have to deal with me again."

He sat back contemplating his next actions.

"You have nothing to lose by letting me continue. If I'm right, you'll deal with the real problem. If I'm wrong, you'll kick me out." He looked at me. "I know it will be hard to see what you know as truth to be proven wrong, but you also have to think with a rational mind as the principal of this school. You can't let the fact that he's your son blind you. Think of the students."

He looked at me with something in between, shock, confusion, and disbelief. We were quiet before he turned his seat around.

"Just leave Sonic." He knew I was right. If I expose his son to be a fraud he needs to do what he's got to do… no matter how much it hurts him.

"Yes sir." I got up and shuffled out of the room. I went down the hallways waiting for him to show his face. Eventually, I noticed a shadow.

Then… _Wham!_

When I came to, I noticed… I was in a… well I wasn't sure what it was. I looked up to see the light source. It seemed rather… decorative. I looked down to see that I was tied to a chair with a white rope… rather lavished if you ask me. This chair was pretty comfortable and the rope didn't feel all that tight around my legs, wrists and middle area. I did have a pain in my neck though. Heck my whole head hurt and my eyes were stinging for a few seconds.

"Oh, good, you're awake." More lights came on and I could see I was in Blake's clubhouse outside the school. It was a little ways off school grounds… kind of in the forest. All I knew was that they had taken quite a bit of trouble to get me here.

What I didn't expect was to see Clara in front of me. "Clara?"

She smiled kind of sweetly kind of sinisterly. She was a squirrel with black hair… a pixie cut I think you call it. She's got a pretty face, I'll give her that, but that smile was giving me shivers… the really bad kind.

She giggled, "Who were you expecting, Tiny Tim?"

"Actually, I was thinking along the lines of a certain white dog."

"Oh, he'll be here, as soon as class let's out." And so the confession begins. I sure hope everyone is in their places.

"When will that be?"

She pretended to look at a watch that wasn't there. "A few minutes, a few hours, what's the difference?"

"So soon?" Man her voice was annoying.

"Duh." She took a seat at the smoothie bar. It was surprisingly warm in here. Then again Blake comes from old money, he dad doesn't have to work, but he enjoys his job. Shouldn't surprise anyone that this clubhouse is like a small home for the rich.

"So… how did I get in Blake's clubhouse?" I asked hoping that they could hear me and help get me out of here.

"Well let's see, Blake hit you with a bat, Richard and Joe dragged you here and I brought those crunches of yours." She pointed to them. They were to the side leaning on a wall. "And here we are."

"So, this is what you do when you're sick?" I had to keep her talking if I was going to last long enough for some help. And if Blake shows up I'll have to keep him talking too. Well, that should be easy enough. Maybe I can even get him to reveal something embarrassing.

"Okay, so I got better."

"But you didn't come to school?"

"I just do what Blake tells me."

"Why?" That still makes me want to puke knowing she has a picture of him on her nightstand.

"Because dear Sonic," I heard a few people come in, "Clara here is my girlfriend." Blake stepped up to her and kissed her cheek. The sight of it made me want to hurl. He looked at me funny. "I was hoping for a gasp, not a face of green," Blake commented.

"Excuse me if the sight of you and a girl makes me want to lose my lunch."

"That hurts Sonic." He looked down. "But soon you'll be in nothing but pain, and not just physical."

"Okay, you know, I have the feeling you're just going to gloat, so why don't you tell me what the heck your plan is?"

He took his cane and touched the bottom of my chin with it and studied me. He was getting rather suspicious of me.

"I may as well know what's going to happen, if only to satisfy my quest for the truth. And hey, aren't I allowed a last request?" I tried to keep my cool. Hopefully he won't be the wiser and just be the complete egotistical maniac he is.

"Hmm, I suppose." He shrugged. "Not much of a request since I was going to tell you anyway."

"Then just do it, so I can get this over with."

"You know, you've haven't been entertaining these past few months."

"Excuse me if I don't shake in terror." I rolled my eyes.

He stared at me, sighed and proceeded with the whole telling me what he's going to do. "No matter, you won't remember what happened after a few minutes."

Okay, I'll admit that I started to shake at those words.

"It's simple really. We snuck into the school through a broken window, had Richard here open the locker combination that Clara so kindly provided for us." The two love birds took a moment to stare affectionately at each other. Can someone just kill me now? "Then we took the envelope and hid it here." He reached behind the counter and pulled it out. "Just so that I could plant it into your locker once we got the combination and frame you."

Well that gave me a motive and I could figure out the rest. "And you thought if you could reveal it to the school, you'd be called a hero, I'd get shipped out of here and your revenge is completed."

"Yes."

"But you didn't because…"

"We had planned to plant it the next day, but the storm forced us to let it go. Besides, why not let you have a moment of happiness before I tear you up from the inside out."

"Don't you mean from the outside in? I mean you're going to beat me senseless before going to frame me and destroying any chance I have at seeming not a freak around here." Come on guys, where are you?

"Details… Details." Then I remembered a little detail.

"Speaking of which, who sent that text?"

"I did." Clara raised her hand and smiled brightly. "I knew Rouge would just send that thing all over the place. She was never one to not share."

"You wanted to make sure that everyone knew about it being lost."

"Isn't that obvious?" Well yeah, but I needed to stall.

"Sorry, I think that bump on my head is starting to affect my thinking."

"That pump will be the least of your problems once we're through with you," Joe said pounding his fist into his palm.

This is it… Wait, is that shuffling…Someone's outside.

"What was…"

_Wham!_

"You let Sonic go!"

"Amy?!" Before I could say anything else I saw her run in and… with a hammer in her hands…? I never saw that thing before.

"Who the hell are you?" I heard them say in different ways. I saw Richard come for Amy as I started to struggle… then I saw Amy swing that giant thing at him and he hit a wall. Is it possible to be scared shitless and yet turned on by this all at the same time?

"Sonic!" I looked around to see Rocky and Knuckles coming in. Knuckles took care of Joe with a few punches… well they were struggling. Amy and Rocky came to me then.

"Are you okay Sonic?" Amy asked with a worried look.

"Well, you're here so things aren't bad." I smirked. I felt Rocky untying me.

I saw her blush.

"Uh, you guys can get all mushy later." Rocky took some rope and tried to rope Clara up like cattle.

"Think you can untie me Amy?"

"Right." She started. In the whole thing, Knuckles was wrestling Joe while Rocky tried to tie Clara's hands and feet together. I wondered where Blake went until… Amy freed my hands. We got to work on the ones around my ankles… I lost track of my thinking and just wanted to get free. I noticed a shadow approaching us while I was bent down.

"Amy!" I shouted. She turned around as I saw Blake swing his cane at her. I closed my eyes not wanting to see her get hit.

I was expecting to hear a scream, but instead I heard a gasp… and it definitely didn't come from Amy. I looked up to see that Amy had blocked the cane with her hammer. She pushed Blake back and said, "If you ever THINK of hurting my Sonic ever again, you'll be in a hospital bed." The venom in her voice was scary. Blake sure looked like he would piss himself.

She pushed him back one final time before hitting him with her hammer. He landed behind the smoothie bar. Again, I am so scared and yet to attracted to her right now… please tell me that's normal. If it's not, I like being weird. I just stared at her. Here she was, Amy Rose, my next door neighbor, my girlfriend, and a miracle. I had never felt more respect for her than in that one moment when she slammed that hammer into Blake… simply like an angel…

She caught me staring. "What?"

I shook my head to bring me back. "Nothing Amy." I blushed and went back to getting myself free.

When I did, I looked up to see Amy with my crutches and heard some more shuffling from outside.

"Blake Theodore Folly." We all turned our heads… well those of us who were conscience anyway, to see Principal Folly in the doorway with Melody and Tails at his side.

Blake, welcome to a world of trouble.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky 'Da Shadow' Agua.<strong>

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><p><em><strong>Will you pick a name already? Jeez…<strong>_


	41. Chapter 41

**So, we're back on the couch. This may or may not be the last session but you know we'll see. **

**Everyone: I'm really happy with the responses that I've gotten with the last chapter. We all were aching to see Blake finally get what he deserves… and see Amy give him a good smash. I do have to say that the ending was right on the money from what I've read. And I thank you all for reading. **

**IntoTheInferno343: I remember watching that show all the time… The new one's animation just kind of throws me off.**

**Bearvalley3365: Eh… maybe… I'm not making any promises though.**

**Shadowcast214: Funny that was the plan all along with the flashbacks in this one. **

**Guest1: What happened to Julian is still a bit of a mystery to me. I have the idea; just need to see how to reveal it piece by piece and then the exact details of it I gotta piece together myself. Thank you for the compliment.**

**Bass the Echidna: It takes a bit of practice and some heart to go into the piece of work to grow as a writer. Don't be discouraged, just try and finish what you start. You'll learn something from it and get better. I wish you good luck.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

I was in Doc's office again. This time he had more Christmas decorations and even a little tree with a few ornaments with a small star on top. The tables had um… those doily things… I guess to give a snow effect or something.

"Have a cookie Sonic," he suggested.

"Thanks Doc." I took one from a try on the table. I took a bite and got on my back while placing an arm behind my head for some more support. I munched on it for a bit.

"I notice that you had a bit of an accident…" He seemed rather slow with his words if you ask me. I looked towards my crutches that were leaning against the couch thing at my feet and then looked towards Doc with his face trying to keep calm with concern.

I sighed. "Yeah, you could say that. I slipped while running and I ended up twisting my ankle."

"Ouch! Remember that happened to me once."

"Really?" I gave him a surprised look.

He nodded with a bit of an embarrassed smile. "Oh, yes. I fell off my bike and the landing didn't serve too well for me."

I chuckled.

"We all have those moments Sonic."

I nodded in agreement before looking at the ceiling.

"Did anything else happen to you Sonic?"

I felt a smile grow on my face.

"Something very good from the looks of it." I looked over at him to see a grin on his face.

"You have no idea Doc."

"Well then enlighten me."

So I told him about Blake's takedown. Every last thing. At one point I sat up and started these gestures with my hands for the rest of the story. He and I laughed after I told him about the hit Amy gave him.

"Sounds like you've got quite the team."

"It… well I'm glad they were there with me. They were as determined to bring him down as I was."

"And you did." He leaned in a bit and then smiled with wisdom. "I am very proud of you Sonic. Both of you and your friends. You did what seemed impossible this time last year."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I have to admit it felt good to… bring him to justice."

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Interesting choice of words…"

I looked at him funny. "Well… that's pretty much what happened. I took down the bad guy."

He nodded. "Would it have been just as satisfactory if it wasn't Blake who was the criminal?"

I was taken aback by that. I looked at him funny wondering why he would ask me that. "Well, yeah."

"Really?" I could tell he was going to go into a bit of prying or digging into my head.

I kept that face. "Of course. No matter what would happen I was going to catch the thief. We all were looking forward to that luncheon and I could do something about it… We all could…"

He had this look of pure joy. "That's wonderful Sonic." He got a bit teary eyed.

"You okay Doc?"

He wiped his eyes. "Oh it's nothing Sonic. You…" He chuckled. "You are an amazing child Sonic."

I was about to say something but he caught me off.

"You are free Sonic, truly free of Blake's grasp. You set out to help the school. You weren't just in it to give Blake what he deserves or to clear your name..."

"Uh, Doc, that _was _why I took the case. I couldn't let the principal think I did it when I could find out who did. I didn't want to think Blake as the only suspect because then I'm letting my own feelings get in the way of the case messing with actually solving it." Why did it sound like I was lecturing him?

"But once you took it and started the case, it wasn't just about clearing your name now was it?"

"Well… no."

He had this look that told me that I just struck something important. "Go on." He knew that I had something I could say.

"Well, when I talked to Blaze… I saw someone who needed my help… Heck I'm a hero to the school now."

Doc nodded and smiled. "There you go."

I looked at him not sure if he could read me. I do remember a time when I just wanted to catch whoever did this no matter who it was. The fact that it was Blake who was the mastermind let me kill two birds with one stone. But before I knew it was him… I just wanted to find the thief and the money. I wanted to help the school.

"I see what you mean Doc."

He smiled. "Like I said Sonic, you're an amazing kid. I don't think you'll have much use for me after some time."

"Really?" I asked him. I wasn't sure if I was happy or sad. I like Doc, but I would also like it if I didn't need to talk out this stuff because of what happened to me as a kid.

"Yes Sonic. You're coming along very nicely. You're sense of justice led to a career choice. You have friends and family that adore and love you. You are good to people. You'll do great things Sonic. I have no doubt about that."

"But… what about you? You're one of the only adults I've come to trust." I felt myself droop a little.

He smiled… I looked at him. I saw a grandpa. "Oh, you won't miss coming into the office. But I sure would appreciate visits when you're a great detective Sonic."

I perked up at the sound of that. "Really?"

"Yup, and be sure to invite me to the wedding."

"What?" He started laughing.

"Oh come on Sonic, it really doesn't seem like much of a far fetch event."

"Doc…" I groaned.

"Aw, I'm just teasing you Sonic." He chuckled a little more. "But seriously, I would like to keep in touch with you Sonic."

"Well, we're having a Christmas party at my place. Think you can make it?"

"Mmm, maybe I can stop by but I do have my own family to get to for the holidays."

"Oh it's okay, you don't have to come."

"Oh I will come. I really want to meet Amy." He grinned at me.

"Doc…" I groaned and placed myself back on my back and covered my face with my hands.

"She's a keeper Sonic. You can't deny that. She's as sweet as honey and has some great strength for such a young girl."

I remembered back to when Amy hit Blake. Man did I just want to hug and kiss her. I sighed and let my hands fall onto my chest. "Yeah… she's amazing. Who knew she had a giant hammer for a family heirloom?" I kind of just asked out loud not expecting for an actual answer. Who _could _anyway? Who gives a young girl a giant hammer anyway?

"Her surprises just keep coming it seems."

"Yeah, I don't know whether I should be scared or intrigued."

"Come again Sonic?"

I looked at him. "Think about it Doc. At first glance, Amy's a normal girl with a cute face. The next thing you know, she's bashing you through with a giant hammer that she shouldn't be able to hold in the first place."

He looked choked up… fighting with what to think. I smirked knowing I had him. "I… suppose you're right Sonic." He cleared his throat. "Um… what happened after the Principal came?"

We're back to business. "Well…"

* * *

><p>After the incident, we went back to the school. Everyone was just about to leave when they heard everything over the PA system. Coming back into the school for some warmth I sure enough was nervous since they just stared at me. I felt singled out again… like I have been for so many years. There was sounds… someone was coming towards us from the group of students. Blaze came out of the crowd. She looked at me with sad hopeful eyes. I think everyone in that room was awfully torn at the moment. Everything they thought they knew was completely wrong and proven wrong in one move.<p>

I smiled at Blaze despite everyone's stares. I took out the envelope from the inside of my sweater. "I believe this is yours." I handed it to her. She took it and looked inside. I saw some tears in her eyes before a great grin on her face.

"Thank you." She hugged me… okay, this is a little weird. I even dropped my crutches so I kind of had to use her to support some of my weight. I hugged her back just because it seemed like she needed it. When she let me go, I leaned onto Amy who gladly supported me. She turned to the students, cleared her throat and exclaimed, "The luncheon is on!" She raised the envelope in the air as the entire student body cheered.

It felt good to see everyone happy after all this. Amy wrapped her other arm around me and gave me a squeeze. "I told you you're a hero Sonic."

I smiled at her before I bent down and kissed her. Suddenly the cheering stopped and I could hear everyone gasp. We pulled back to see all eyes on us.

"Um… surprise…" Amy said trying to lighten things up… pretty miserably. They gave each other looks.

"You have got to be kidding me?" We turned to Blake and his little team. Rocky manages to use the rope to tie them together. They were connected with rope around their ankles and arms as if they were real prisoners. I'm really going to have to learn how he does it. It might come in handy in the field. "How did you guys not know about this?"

His goons shrugged and told him they had no clue.

Then someone in the crowd told him, "Oh shut up already, Jerk."

Blake was about to retort something when some spit wads started coming his way and then all kinds of paper in forms of air planes or simply a ball. I think I saw some origami stuff in there too which if you ask me was kind of a waste on him. Some pencils were thrown and it really started to feel like a riot before the principal stopped it.

"CEASE FIRE." He broke the fire alarm and then water poured from the sprinklers on the ceiling. "Everyone is to report to their respective classrooms immediately and wait for further instruction." He turned to me. "Sonic, I believe you have some things to show me, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes Sir."

It wasn't long before I was back in the office with my friends with me. Blake and his little helpers were there too. I saw all of them squirm when Principal Folly told them how wrong this whole thing was. Eventually, we were able to show every piece of footage we had on him and his bullying. His fate: military school. Richard and Joe were expelled too. As for Clara, it was detention every day after school for two months, and she can't attend the luncheon or the class trip. By the time we were done, everyone had gone home.

We were able to get a ride from Melody's mom who stayed in the school and waited for us. We owed her a great explanation for keeping her at the school. She let it go by the time she dropped Amy and I off. Amy and I explained everything to our families since they got a bit worried after a phone call from the school. We didn't get into trouble. We had been through enough that day; especially me.

* * *

><p>"Amazing…"<p>

I looked over at Doc. "You want to talk amazing, they gave me an assembly and a medal today."

He laughed. "Seems that they're really grateful and sorry for how they misjudged you." His face turned to one more of sadness.

"Yeah well, it was a happy ending."

"How was it Sonic?"

* * *

><p>Earlier today Amy's mom drove up to the school and I noticed a banner on the school.<p>

_Sonic the Hedgehog, our hero_

"What the…"

Amy giggled. She opened the door and helped me climb out along with Knuckles.

"Come here Sonic." Knuckles and Rocky took my crutches while they supported my weight. I looked at everyone and then noticed some of the student class officials at the door and kids from the elementary school building along with kids in the middle school building coming towards us before forming an aisle for us to walk through.

"What?" I looked at them all… they all had smiles on their faces. The band came up from the sides of the building and played a marching tune.

"Today is your day Sonic." Melody said. She took out her violin and began to play. Walking into the school, confetti flew and bubbles were blown. They were cheering my name. It was kind of embarrassing but it was pretty cool to see that they did all this for me. I was a hero to the school, or rather I think just to the graduating class. I think everyone else was there because they were sorry for shunning me and telling the younger grades to beware.

The hallways were not different. But, teachers stood at their doors and clapped while we all headed for the auditorium. There, the principal was waiting for me with a smile. Everyone settled down and sat in seats. There were chairs set up on the stage enough for all of us on that stage… well except for Knuckles and Rouge.

Principal Folly spoke when everyone got quiet. "Students, we are gathered here to honor and congratulate a few students and one in particular who managed to save the luncheon with a bit of bravery, intelligence and heart. Also, on the behalf of the entire school, Sonic," Principal Folly turned to me, "I am so sorry for all the trouble and pain you endured at not only the hands of my own son, but also at the silent hands of the students and staff including myself. To you and your friends, I award you each with a medal for your bravery."

One by one Blaze gave us a small medal with our names engraved on the back. Everyone cheered, clapped and hollered through it all as Principal Folly announced our names.

A kid in the crowd started a chant for a speech. I looked out at the students still not believing what has happened. Eventually, I got up with Amy's help and waddled to the podium. May as well give them what they want.

"Um…" Think Sonic. Well I guess I'll think along the way. "I'd like to thank everyone for this um, celebration. It really means a lot to be recognized as someone who… well just saved the luncheon basically." A small roar of laughter came from the students and staff. "But seriously, I'm glad you all know that I'm not trouble. That I'm just like you… a kid growing up in this crazy world we live in. And… I forgive every single one of you for these past years. This um…" I looked towards my friends sitting down with some smiles. "This makes up for it all and I mean it. But, uh, I couldn't have brought the money back without my friends." I turned to them and gestured towards them to get up. They did, smiled and then took me to the center of the stage to take a bow. That was it before I was called in by the newspaper staff to answer some questions.

* * *

><p>"Do you really forgive them all?"<p>

I snapped my head towards Doc. He had a questioning look on his face. I just wondered why he would ask me that. "Well, yeah. It wasn't really their fault in the first place. They were just played by Blake like little pawns and tools. Blake got what was coming to him and you know what Doc?"

"What, Sonic?"

"I let it all go."

"Really?" He looked completely shocked.

I nodded. "It's over now Doc. He got what was coming to him. No point in holding a grudge now."

He nodded.

Now if I can only find a way to let Dad go.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky 'The Shadow' Agua<strong>


	42. Chapter 42

**I will be honest… after this week, chapters will be scarce. I don't know how long it will take me to update again after this week and all I ask of you is to keep with the story.**

**Bearvalley3365: I'll look at suggestions and see if I can fit them it. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't… It's all about my vision of how this story is to play out. Um, yes, I did know that. I plan on studying animals, now did you know that zebras are in fact black with white stripes? When you look at the snout that's skin and it's black so the white stripes are shown only with the fur.**

**Kegger98: Bring the graphic language down a bit if you please… I hint at it for a reason. **

**SnowyDawn17: Then I guess it's great that I update regularly.**

**Shadowcast214: I wasn't planning on bringing Clara back, but I'll… sleep on it I guess. **

**SaraLovelyMusic: It's not the last chapter for the story. **

**Guest1: The troubles of a writer… pretty well put.**

**Everyone: I had a feeling I needed to bring up the aftermath of Blake's end and some needed recognition for Sonic.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

I was placing the mistletoe at the window near the Christmas tree.

"Do you think it'll work Sonic?" Amy asked.

I looked over at her. "I sure hope so. I mean I hate to do this to him but I can't take it anymore."

She smiled and kissed my cheek. There was that click again. I turned around to find Ryan again.

"Ryan." I groaned.

"Sorry. And Amy, your mom wants your opinion on the cookies."

"Oh, be right back," she told me before leaving for the kitchen.

"Planning something Sonic?" Ryan eyed me.

"Just something for my pal. I owe a lot to that kid."

"Ah." He nodded in understanding.

"Say, Ryan?"

"Yes Sonic."

I sighed. I needed to talk to him while I still could. It's been bugging me and something told me that I should go to him first… before Doc. He brought it to my attention in the first place. "Remember when you said I needed to let go of what my dad put me through?"

His cheery mood turned to a sad one. "Um, yes."

"Well, I want to… but I don't know how."

I saw him take it in… I couldn't really read him. He took a breath. "Are you sure you're ready Sonic?"

I sighed myself. "Here's the thing Ryan. I don't see a point in hating someone who's dead."

"But?" He eyed me with concern.

"But something keeps nagging me. Telling me that I… well I can't just let him go. There's something missing about this whole thing." I started to pace… going into detective mode again. "I just don't get it," I said thinking out loud. "I figured you might be able to help me." I faced him.

I saw him think. "I… I don't know if I can be much help Sonic. But I don't think you should hate your dad."

"I don't, actually I feel kind of bad for him." I know he was a jerk, but I can only imagine how scared he was knowing that he was going to die. They didn't just want to kill him either. They wanted him to suffer. "Why would someone do that?"

"Sonic…" He had this look that told me off in space. "I don't think it's a matter of hating him. I think it's your thirst for the truth that won't let him go."

That's it… Suddenly it made sense. I can't have peace myself unless I know who did this to my dad and why. The reason why I let Blake go was because I brought him to justice. My thirst for the truth and justice led me to Blake's end. It's over, my conscience is clean. Everything was resolved and I could rest easy.

With Dad… he suffered when they were going to kill him and when we left him… That's punishment enough for what he did. He was broken until Ryan found him and helped him out. When he had his act cleaned up, someone came in and killed him. There's too much I don't know to just let it go. I'm not angry. What's done is done and I don't need to be angry when I'm okay. I don't need to be sad because I never was. I don't need to be happy because that'd just make me a monster too… someone died. I need closure… I need to know what happened to my dad. Otherwise… something tells me this issue with him is just going to be bothering me until I have something. Those nightmares don't exactly make it any easier. They don't come around as often but they still shake me.

Ryan snapped me out of my thoughts. "Sonic? Are you okay?"

I looked at him a little dumbfounded but then I smiled. "Yeah, I'm actually a lot better than I have been in a long time. Thanks Ryan."

"Uh, no problem."

"So, how was Ma?" I needed a laugh after that whole enlightenment.

"Sonic!"

"What?" I was laughing on the inside while I kept a grin on my face.

"You didn't…" He got this sudden worried look.

"I didn't hear anything, but you and Ma both woke up awfully… happy and yet drained this morning."

He turned away and groaned silently.

I laughed a little.

"Please Sonic, just don't."

"Okay, okay." I pulled up my hands in a defensive pose.

"Good boy." He patted my head.

Soon enough everyone arrived and while we watched some Christmas specials, we helped put together a gingerbread house on the coffee table. Well actually we let Amy and Cream put it together. The rest of us wanted to help but after some time of just bumping elbows we just let them take care of it instead. Besides, they seemed to be the two most excited about it anyway. Even Doc showed up, but he was gone after half an hour. I managed to tell him what was up with my dad situation and introduced him to Amy. She still doesn't know about the visits but… I'll let her know soon enough.

I glanced over at the Amy and Cream and noticed Tails was starring at Cream. Okay Sonic, it's time to see if he's willing to take the plunge on his own or if you're going to have to push him in.

I went over to him and told him, "We need to talk."

He looked up at me a bit surprised but complied with my request. I got him to follow me towards the Christmas tree. Not quite under the mistletoe but with just a small push and getting Cream over here I'll make this happen if it's the last thing I do.

"Bud, are you finally going to do something about Cream?"

He groaned. "Sonic, let it go. But if it makes you feel better, I think I built something to break the ice."

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "Yeah, look, you're right. There really is no point in not doing anything when it's kind of obvious that we… eh, we've been smitten by each other."

I smiled. "I'm proud of you buddy." I patted his back.

"Don't congratulate me yet Sonic. I still gotta tell her don't I?"

"Like she's going to say no."

He shrugged. "You never know."

I sighed. "Just relax and try not to think."

"But–

"Ah, ah, ah, Tails. You're going through with this and thinking is just going to make you nervous and you'll talk yourself out of it. Just feel and focus on her."

He sighed. "All right Sonic."

There was some hot chocolate, a bit of gingerbread eating, and more sweets before dinner. I don't know how he did it, but Shadow managed to kick Mrs. Rose out of the kitchen to fix up a turkey and a lot of other stuff that I'm not sure how he managed to make on his own. All I knew was Shadow the better cook in our household and boy did we chow down. There were still some leftovers… and I say some for a reason. Not enough for everyone to take some home, but you know it was something… Something I can finish off tomorrow.

Shadow and I played our guitars while we sang some carols. Eventually it was present time and we gathered around the tree while Ma started to hand out the presents one by one. I saw Tails take Cream away and they sat back on the couch. I sat an angle that would allow me to see and I nudged Amy a little to look.

"Is he…"

I shushed her softly, smiled and nodded. "Just don't stare too long," I whispered to her.

She nodded with a bright smile and cuddled into me. I opened one present and glanced over at Tails and Cream. They were hugging, but when they pulled away Cream kissed Tails' cheek. I caught his stupid and happy look and I silently congratulated my bud.

I looked over at Amy and kissed her cheek.

"Sonic?" She eyed me kind of playfully… like she was daring me to do it again… eh, I'm not too sure.

"Can't I kiss my girl?" I shrugged and kept a smile.

She sighed, "Okay, you got me there."

I laughed. "Merry Christmas, Amy."

"Merry Christmas, Sonic." She leaned in and gave me a peck.

Now this… was a great Christmas.

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><p><strong>Edited by Sky 'The Shadow' Agua.<strong>


	43. Chapter 43

**Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the late update. I haven't quite been on top of things lately but I promise at least one more chapter this weekend.**

**Bearvalley3365: Oh I don't feel pressure from you guys; it's mostly from me. I know I shouldn't stress myself out but I just do. I don't like disappointing so that's why I may push myself more than I should sometimes. I've come to know a lot of facts.**

**IntoTheInferno343: Seemed like a fitting ending to it.**

**Kegger98: Thank you. But, Sonic's dad hasn't gotten justice for his murder. That'll be when they land the murderer in prison.**

**My-My986: I don't think I'll do something like that, but you know I'll probably do a one shot as an extended epilogue with them a few years in the future, if you guys would like that.**

**Xcite: Love the name by the way. Um, thank you and I guess with practice I guess. The main thing at first was just to bring about Sonic and Amy's innocent romance and it just came from there with a few words and suggestions from you guys. It's pretty helpful when you tell me you want to see more of something happening in the story along with your reactions to what I have put forward for you guys to read. Not quite sure I've ever heard of a fangirl for a fangirl, but you know I guess it works.**

**Sara lovelymusic: Um… Sonic and the gang are thirteen/fourteen right now. They're in eighth grade. Amy and Cream are eleven and in fifth.**

**Everyone: This, I really think is the beginning of the end for the story. I might have a few left in me but you know we'll see.**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Well, winter break passed but the snow wasn't really going anywhere. There's mush everywhere and it's nearing February. Close to home, it's been… pretty quiet. I mean Amy and I are still going strong, as well as the relationships around us. Will even asked out Rachel and it seems they're coming along fairly nicely. The fish are fine and Maria comes around acting like an older sister. She and Ruby are looking to be the best of friends. Ryan could practically be living with us now and the Roses… eh, not much to say they're the same.

It's a different story when I head back to school. My classmates don't look at me funny anymore. For a while I've found notes and apologies in my locker… I even found a bouquet attached to my locker one morning. The gang has gotten a bit more attention too: a few thank you notes and I think Will got his hands on an out of print book. It's nice of them, really but it really has started to get a bit embarrassing. No one fears nor do they ignore me, but they're not flinging themselves at me trying to be my friend either. It's died down a bit but as of recently I've gotten cases from my classmates and kids in the elementary building.

It was a bit weird at first, but when I got to relive that feeling of helping someone and finding the truth I welcomed the cases. They're small, but hey you can't really expect much crime from a school and expect a few thirteen year olds to stop it. The first was actually a young girl who lost her favorite toy somewhere on campus. I really couldn't turn down a young kid so I told her I'd see what I could do. Turns out the doll was in a birds nest. Didn't surprise me since the doll was bedazzled. After that I've got pets that go missing, stolen bikes in the neighborhood, cheating boyfriends… Yeah it's spreading. High school students are coming up to me now with cases for me and my friends.

I'll tell you this much right now, high school is just brewing with cases… and they're not really innocent either. I took down a few students that were stealing electronics from other students to sell. The thing is, I only nabbed the henchmen, the real mastermind seems to be the head of any sort of rule breaking. All I've got to go on is that this person goes by the name of King. With luck I might be able to nab him freshman year. I don't know how but all this stuff somehow operates with adults not knowing what to do. They don't catch the student in the act so there's not much they can do. I guess that's where I come in. It's kind of cool to be the one who goes out and finds this stuff out. I've never been so happy to be alive.

But you know; every detective has that case that keeps them up at night. Dad's case is mine and it's pretty much out of my own hands. Roger keeps me posted but that's it. I can't do anything at this point since I've given them what I could. It's up to them now.

I was in an interrogation room for the latest update. Roger let's me look at the files they have but only when we're both in an interrogation room. It's the only way of letting me know what's going on without either one of us getting in trouble.

Roger came in with a few files in his hands. He placed the two down on the table. I was wondering why he had them before some realization came in.

"Polly…"

"You recognize her?" He was getting into his detective mode so I had to give him what he wanted to know.

"Yeah… she came by pretty often with dad."

He opened her file and pushed it towards me. "She's an entertainer at a…" Roger cleared his throat, "gentlemen's club that your dad seemed to be a regular at."

I nodded not really surprised by the news. "So, what's up?"

"You're father and Polly met up again when you're father got his act together. It seems there was more than a friendship and lust case here."

"You're kidding?" I asked shocked out of my mind. Dad had a girlfriend… from what it looks like anyway. I just couldn't believe it. Yeah, Polly came around but I didn't think this would happen years later.

"Nope, she and your dad were close."

I nodded in understanding. "So, why have her on file like this?" I placed the file down and looked at Roger.

"A guy by the name of Luke Brown also had an eye for her."

Suddenly, the pieces came together. "You think this Brown guy murdered my dad out of lust." It fit. Love and lust was always a strong motive for murder. Suddenly I was out of detective mode. I just thought of how stupid of a reason this guy killed my dad for.

"Here's the thing though Sonic, we have a good motive but we also only have one piece of evidence that connects Brown to your father's murder."

"Isn't that enough though?"

"It's just some hair but chances are the defense is going to argue that the hair could've gotten there in a quarrel they had a day before your father went missing."

I sat thinking like I was in the court myself. "How does a hair cling onto someone for that long?"

"If you've ever owned a cat you'd understand."

"Huh?" That was totally out of the blue and it seriously caught me off guard. I looked at him funny.

"Hair can cling on fairly well especially with the clothing your father was wearing."

"Can't you use that fight as further evidence for the motive?" I asked trying to get this case in our favor even though I wouldn't really have part of it. At least not much anyway.

"We can have all the motive we want Sonic but the jury wants the physical evidence. We can't have innocent people going to jail."

"But it also makes it difficult when you're so sure of who did it," I mused… just thinking out loud.

"We might have an easier time if we can identify who gave your father his final blow."

And so the gears start turning again. "Have you looked into his associates yet?"

"Still working on it. We're looking at the relatives to find out before we station ourselves to follow him around." I smiled. "We'll see this through Sonic, and even if we didn't have that hair we still would've looked into him."

"Why?" I shrugged wondering why give yourself the trouble.

He chuckled, "Listen Rookie, you gotta exhaust every single possibility. You might have missed something the first time around you might want to look into. No moment is wasted as long as it is for the sake of the case."

I nodded in understanding. I knew to solve a case you had to consider all possibilities but I didn't think to keep looking back at something if the first time it seemed to give you a dead end. I made a mental note of it to put in my journal. Yeah… it was Will's idea. I've been compiling what Roger's been saying to me in my own kind of detective hand book in cases where I need some guidance but I don't want to bother Roger. Besides, it'll help me wean myself off a mentor and stand on my own when I make homicide one day. I'll probably have the whole thing down pack by then. "I got it."

He smiled. "That's my Rookie."

I gave him a look. "I'm not even in recruitment."

"Oh but the boys and I already think of you as part of the family."

I just smiled and nodded. "I gotta admit, it's kind of nice to be familiar face here." I thought about it. "You know, when you're on the right side of the law."

We laughed a bit before Ma called to tell me to come home. I left that place with a clearer head. My dad's murderer may be caught by just a hair and it'll all be over bringing me some peace of mind. I started to run home on the more slow side since my ankle still kind of bothered me and I didn't want to risk another injury to my foot with this slush. I started to think about the crime scene and how it almost seemed kind of sloppy. They clearly left foot prints and left my dad's body near the water. You would think we could blow this whole thing with that much evidence. But no, we don't have a weapon and only one suspect. But it was clear there were multiple people who did the deed. The question here is who and where did the gun go? I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt my feet get wet.

I looked around and I was at the spot where it happened… more or less. I stepped out of the river before I felt something wet hit my nose. I looked up to see the clouds had darkened without my prior notice. Some more rain came and I knew if I didn't get home fast I'd seriously be soaked. I was about to run off when I heard some voices. I ran towards a lonely tree and hid behind it. I was about to run off again before I caught sight of three shadows. The rain was really starting to pour down but I was able to notice a slim yellow tail and a green tail that definitely belonged to a water fowl. The other figure was big… like huge and they carried something in a bag.

"Come on let's hurry this up," the bigger shadow said. The voice sounded so gruff it nearly made me squeal… nearly. "You know I hate the rain."

The waterfowl replied with a more funny voice than scary, "I don't know, I kind of like the rain, it's refreshing."

"Well, I want this stiff gone this time."


	44. Chapter 44

**Here's the last one for a while. Sorry you guys but be sure to check back in the next few weeks. I should have the final chapter up by then.**

**SnowyDawn17: In this case, something is better than nothing and that something can crack it right open.**

**IntoTheInferno343: I'm kind of out of ideas that flow so… hence why it was the beginning of the end. There's not much left in me.**

**Kegger98: I don't find Sonic angry at them. I find him frustrated that they can't pin it on the guy. They killed someone so they need to be locked up. **

**Bearvalley3365: It's been one of my better ideas as it seems. Oh and I have a bit of a surprise for you. See if you can spot it?**

**Alesia: You'll see.**

**Guest1: Eh, just read and see.**

**Everyone: Thank you for reading and I hope you'll be checking in to see the end. **

* * *

><p>Sonic's POV<p>

Stiff? They've got a dead body. Oh… no… I'm a witness in a crime. I knew I had to get to Roger fast but I remembered him telling me that it's easier to solve a case when the witness doesn't freak out and runs as soon as they see something. If I can get names or get a look at their faces it'd be more useful. It's not wrong to run when you see something like this. You can get yourself killed too if you're not quick enough or careful. From either direction I'd be gone in a flash, so it's not really a big deal to me. Besides… my curiosity and thirst wouldn't let me leave without more information. Oh, the dangers of being me…

"Hey leaving that Julian guy whoever he was was your idea!" The third guy exclaimed. Nothing out of the ordinary with this guy other than he just murdered someone. Wait, Julian… Did… they kill my dad? For a moment I froze… I might have come to see witness my father's murderers disposing of another body.

"At least this stiff was more worth the time." I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the scary voice again. "That guy was just someone the Boss wanted to shit for taking his dame." They threw the body into the river. "That guy," I saw him pointing at the body. "He cheated us and deserved it."

"At least with this guy we made it quick," The bird remarked. I think I saw nods and then they turned.

A flash of lightening showed. The one that stood out the most… a gorilla with an eye patch over his left eye. They all were covered in black but I did see a shiny collar on him. Something told me he's very well decorated if he even considered wearing that collar. And it looked like his fur was just all over the place with color from gold to blue and possibly more. The other two were more of average built; a duck as I expected and a cat… a very bright yellow cat. It almost hurt to look at him even in only that bit of lightening. The duck for some reason had some stitches on his cheek. I didn't know whether to laugh or to run scared… I was leaning towards laughing since his beak was pink.

"Yeah, the other guy sure got a few battle scars from the shit Brown gave him." They started to leave. I stood there unnoticed and frozen letting it sink in… This is it… dad's murderers and I bore witness. I heard enough and I'll know them when I see them.

Before I left though, I stopped by where they stood and saw some tracks… hopefully they'll still be there when I'd come back with the force. I ran into the night with the wind helping a bit and the rain pelting my body kind of softly kind of not. I didn't pay too much on it though. I had to get to the station. I had to get to Roger. I had to bring those criminals down. I focused on getting there and surprisingly I didn't even feel a slight slip.

When I made it, I saw Roger heading out with his partner.

"Hey, Roger!" I shouted at him and ran to him.

He looked at me with a worried and confused face. "Sonic? What are you doing here? You should be home."

"I know," I sighed. "But I ended up wandering in my head and my feet took me to my dad's murder scene…" I went on with what I saw and before I got to what I heard he told me to get in the car. We drove there and while we were getting there I told the rest of the story. Roger took notes while his partner drove and called for a team.

"So you're sure you can point these guys out in a line up?"

"Yeah, no doubt here Roger. No way you can miss a few people like that by a river."

"You've done good Sonic." He didn't look at me but I could tell by his voice there was more he wanted to say.

"But…"

"But you shouldn't have been out there in the first place and it's dangerous to stay there when a crime is being committed." Why it is it surprised me this was coming… I have no idea.

I just groaned and leaned back into my seat. "I know, I didn't even mean to be there, but I was and I did stay." He didn't respond. "I can't change it now and you know it. What I did was dangerous and I know that, but it also helps the case. I know what I'm getting myself into Roger. I know it's dangerous to be on the force."

"But you're still so young Sonic." I was shocked at his tone… it reminded me of the one Ryan used that time in the cemetery or the time anyone kept telling me that I've grown up so fast and what not. "You don't need to be putting your life at risk now. You've got so much life in you."

I stayed silent for a while not really knowing how to respond to that.

"You've got the right stuff Kiddo but you've still got a lot to learn and have got a lot of preparing to do when you deal with murder cases. You're theft cases aren't much compared to something like this. I expect a lot from you Sonic, but promise me that you'll leave the bigger stuff to me okay?"

"Yeah… Yeah okay Roger." I looked out the window. I knew he was right. I knew he was right before I started getting those cases. It's all real small time and in a place like this… murder doesn't happen too often. Those stolen electronics for profit was the biggest thing I had ever done and those guys sure enough weren't armed. Didn't need to be anyway, they didn't think they'd get caught. You don't see cameras in a locker room. For a while, I'll just be dealing mostly with lost stuff or animals. For now… that's all I can do without proper training or anything else. I'm a young kid so I should still be that… a kid with a good life ahead of him. I've got time before I even enter the Academy… best have some good times before then.

When we reached the river, Roger's phone rang. "It's your mother." He turned and handed the phone to me. "Better tell her what's up."

I nodded and took the phone. I told her what happened… needless to say she was scared and upset with me. She told me she'd be here in half an hour or less. I didn't leave the car, I just saw more people show up and identify the crime scene. After some time, Roger came back and asked through the window, "So what does your mom say?"

"She's coming to get me."

"Ah, sorry you couldn't stick around." He was back to sort of joking but I could tell he was somewhat glad I'd be gone in a bit. This would be good exposure if I was already on the force, but I wasn't ready for the real thing so I was fine sitting there.

"I'll get my hands on a real crime scene one day." I smiled a sad smile. "Just not today, or tomorrow, but yeah… I'll be taking your job." I smirked.

He smirked back. "You'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands Sonic."

It wasn't long before Ma arrived and took me away. The whole way she sort of bantered and sort of said words to me that said she was so relieved. She kind of went back and forth. I wasn't really paying much attention until we made it home.

She switched the car off and then turned to me in her seat. "You sure you'll be okay tonight?" I think I heard that a few times on the way and I just murmured an answer. I had enough of it and so I just gave in.

"Think you've got room for one more." I tried to be more perky but it didn't really come out that way.

She gave me a sorry look. "Of course. Now come on, we need to get inside." I heard her sigh as we made it out of the car. "I still can't believe you were there Sonic and that you just stood there." She got all panicky. We were walking through the door as she continued. "You should've run and told Roger when you realized what was happening." She had a hint of worry in her not so angry tone. I think by that time she was just so consumed by worry and relief to be mad.

"I know Ma and I really am sorry. I just had to stay for the sake of the case," I said as I walked towards the stairs aching to get out of my wet clothes. I turned to see Ma just in front of the closed door. She looked completely confused. I sighed and gave her a sorry look. "Someone had died and their murderers need to be in the Big House. I know it was dangerous and now I know better."

She wouldn't look at me and that made me feel awful seeing those negative feelings in my mom. I started to think of some way to get her to be even a bit happy.

"I know I should still be you're little boy a bit longer."

She looked at me with some tears on her eyes that I knew were there before I shared those words with her.

"Roger talked to me and told me that I've got time before I'm off and solving cases. I should use it to be young." I smiled. I went up to her as I saw a smile appear on her face. She took me in her arms and she cried for a bit. I shed a few tears myself.

For such a long time I had always seemed so much older than I really was. I had to grow up fast to keep myself from breaking in what I lived in. Now… I can slow down and pace it like a normal teenager. I've still got a lot of life to live that I can spend with family and friends. I don't need to be out solving cases all the time to get a burst of joy. As good as the ending to a good job is… I think I like the calmness that comes between them better. It reminds me that even though the world is very chaotic… it's also very tranquil too.

Now… I've got the rest of middle school to finish.


	45. Chapter 45

**Well, this is it. It's the last chapter for this story… It'll be the last post you'll see from me in a long time. Think of it as a sort of parting gift for now. I don't know if I'll make a sequel, but I am working on a FlashLight fic.**

**Alesia: It's here.**

**Bearvalley3365: Take another look at the chapter and look at the descriptions of the suspects. I have no clue on the SOAP thing.**

**Raphaelplusmikey: A bit of an exaggeration… okay well this took a year and a half or so, but um… thanks for the compliment and for reading.**

**SnowyDawn17: It's been a fun and sometimes emotional ride. Sonic deserves his happy ending and I think I may have exhausted this one long enough.**

**Guest1: What, I wasn't going to tell you were right and ruin it. Then again… I think everyone may have guessed the same thing… Oh well.**

**Xcite: I did two chapters with Amy's POV but yeah I guess I could've just made it into one really long one. I just wanted mix things up a bit, but why only those two chapters… I suppose well, it's a SonAmy story, yes, but it was mostly about Sonic, he goes through finding love, making friends, helping people, deals with a murder and bad people. I think that's why, I'm not exactly sure.**

**IntoTheInferno: It was time.**

**Velmet: We'll see, but I can't promise anything.**

**Everyone: I thank you for reading and sticking with the story. It has been my pleasure to have written something that a lot of people can enjoy. I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions/requests… makes it just a bit easier to give you what you want to read, move the story in to a new direction that could make it better and some have even brought me out of writer's block.**

**I am open to any story requests if you have the idea but just not the words I can probably work with it, or I can be of some assistance if you're up and coming.**

**It's been a blast and I thank you for joining me on this journey with Sonic.**

**Annie**

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><p>Sonic's POV<p>

"I'm really sorry." I took a box of tissue from the inside of my trench coat and handed it to the cheerleader.

She was crying. "No, no. It's not your fault. He's just an asshole."

I nodded showing a bit of sympathy. See, it was another case of the suspected boyfriend cheating. I was just glad it wasn't the best friend this time. Those never end pretty.

"At least you know the truth and… you can get on with your life," I told her. You can't get close to clients, makes the case personal and that's not something that ends well all the time.

She nodded before blowing her nose. I did hate this part of the job, breaking bad news to my client. Some timing too. It's Valentine's Day and I just told a girl her boyfriend is a cheater. But I think she cares more about giving that guy a piece of her mind.

"Thanks. I'm glad you helped me out."

I shrugged. "All in a day's work." Actually, me and the gang did a stake out for two weeks; caught them seven times, but that's beside the point.

She sadly smiled.

I smiled back under the fedora. I've taken to the whole get up and you know, I kind of like the look. I have a mind to slip Will and Rocky a thank you note for daring me to wear this stuff while on cases and meeting with clients.

"You're going to be okay. You'll find that special someone who won't wander around."

She giggled sadly. "Bet you'd never stray."

I smiled. "Nope, haven't yet and I don't plan to."

"So you do have a girlfriend then?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"She's very lucky then." Her phone rang. I heard her talk to someone who I had to guess was a parent of hers, before she turned to me with a look. "I've got to go but um, here." She handed me some money and then ran off.

They never get it. I don't have a fee for what I do, I just do it. I help people. The gang uses it as just something else we do together. However, people just insist on it and just hand it over to me. I could run, stop them and give it back, but they'd just not take it back. Ma told me to just put whatever they gave me in a jar for safe keeping. She tells me it's money earned and the gang and I deserve it. I let them give me what they want and nothing more. The jar is in my room since I'm the so called boss. Nothing comes out… at least not until we graduate from high school. We plan on using it to travel and then Rouge can take care of the rest if need be.

I ran home to change out of the trench coat and fedora. I had a date with a certain pink hedgehog I had to keep. She started me on this journey and here I am; an amateur young sleuth with a good life ahead of him. I'll forever be in debt to her and all I can really do is be there for her and show her how I appreciate what she's done. Right now that consists of being a good boyfriend to her and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. She's done what no one else has been able to do in such a long time; she got me to break out of my shell and see my potential.

On my way home I looked back on the past year or so. I crushed on a beautiful girl who liked me back. My brother went from being a player to being a big sweetheart to Maria. Ma met Ryan who I know for a fact is planning to propose. I met some pretty cool kids who became my friends when no one else would and stood by me. The thorn in my side known as Blake is gone thanks to some help from my friends. My classmates see me for who I am for the first time ever and I became a hero to the school. I'm doing what I was meant to do; helping people by being a detective… well in training I guess. Hey, I've still got a lot to learn. Lastly, I've dealt with the mental scars my father left me and found some closure.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to forget what he did. But I'm also not going to let it bug me anymore. I let it go. There's no point in being angry with someone who is dead. But he didn't need to be murdered for it. Jailed definitely, but torture and murder just when it seemed he was a changed guy… I don't think so. Many may disagree but I think to when he was broken and completely lost. Us leaving him was punishment enough. The torture and murder seems like overkill if you ask me. And for what, a dame. It's stupid. I'm not angry, but I'm not happy either. They killed someone and they deserve to be locked up. I remembered while the investigation was going on I really tried not to feel much of anything. It's a personal case and that can be pretty dangerous in this line of work… it clouds your judgment. I didn't want to see my dad as the victim, I just saw, for the most part, a man who was murdered plain and simple. As long as justice is served, I'll be fine.

I am fine. My taste was satisfied and I have no reason to dwell on my dad anymore. His murder is solved and I let what he did go.

I made it home and just when I was about to step inside, I heard, "Sonic!"

I smiled as I recognized that voice. I turned around to see Amy… in a little green dress. I don't know what was more shocking, the fact that she was wearing green or how um… how she looked in it. She stepped onto her porch with a sweet smile. I was there frozen looking like an idiot. She was on the other side of the street but I felt my heart beat fast and my cheeks turn red just from the sight of her.

"Are you coming over or what?"

I shook myself back into my head. I kind of hated it when she does this to me; making me turn to mush and stuff. But, I also kind of like it, this warm feeling.

"Come on Sonic." She came down onto the side walk.

"I've got to change Amy, I'll be over in a minute."

I saw her pout. I let out a breath and ran right over to her.

"You just can't wait can ya?" I smirked at her.

She giggled. "I don't know why you would want to change out of the trench coat and fedora."

Suddenly an idea popped into my head. "You like me in this stuff don't you?"

I saw her muzzle turn red. I smirked. "Can you blame me Sonic?"

My smirk turned into a normal smile. "I'll be real with you Amy, it's grown on me." I kissed her right then and there.

I looked into her eyes after a second and just looked back at our moments together. I realized something. I didn't like Amy. I love her. I love Amy Rose.

Funny how it actually took a young detective to figure that one out.

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><p><strong>Edited by SkytheHigh (The Beast)<strong>


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